Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 63,059 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Impax Asset Management cut its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 46.8%, selling 63,059 shares in Q4 and leaving it with 71,738 shares valued at $13.214 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 30,356 shares worth $4.98 million over the past 90 days — including EVP Dipak Golechha (5,000 shares at $160.42) and Director John P. Key (1,572 shares at $173.32).
• Analyst and market view: Palo Alto Networks has a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $210.07, while the stock trades around $178.54 (market cap ~$145.7B, P/E ~98.6) and was up about 3.1% on the day.

Impax Asset Management Group plc decreased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,738 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 63,059 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $13,290,270,000 after buying an additional 1,253,589 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,736,916 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $6,055,031,000 after purchasing an additional 505,924 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,528,248 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,532,902,000 after purchasing an additional 36,511 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,906,963 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,202,776,000 after purchasing an additional 611,375 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,037,320 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $822,079,000 after purchasing an additional 17,394 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $178.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $145.69 billion, a PE ratio of 98.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $161.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company's revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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