Impax Asset Management Group plc Trims Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lessened its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 24.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,048 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 44,372 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $22,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.3%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $201.50 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $193.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.44. The company has a market capitalization of $134.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 321,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.36, for a total transaction of $19,336,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,343,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $646,502,253.76. This represents a 2.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 668,722 shares of company stock worth $121,714,798. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.