Insight Holdings Group LLC Takes $5.29 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Insight Holdings Group LLC opened a new position in Palo Alto Networks, buying 26,000 shares valued at approximately $5.29 million, which represents 0.3% of the firm's holdings and is its 21st largest holding.
• Insider selling has been notable recently: insiders sold 149,252 shares worth about $27.89 million over the last 90 days (including EVP Dipak Golechha's 5,000-share sale), and corporate insiders now own just 1.40% of the stock.
• Palo Alto Networks recently beat estimates with EPS of $1.03 vs. $0.94 and revenue of $2.59 billion (up 14.9% YoY); analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $210.19.

Insight Holdings Group LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,000 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,294,000. Palo Alto Networks comprises 0.3% of Insight Holdings Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.2% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 162,384 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $33,230,000 after acquiring an additional 10,970 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 391,506 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $80,118,000 after acquiring an additional 46,301 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $167.01 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.27, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.52. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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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