Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $2.61 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks (PANW) by 68.6%, now holding 15,274 shares valued at approximately $2.61 million.
• Other institutional investors are actively increasing their positions, with Brighton Jones LLC boosting its stake by 147.7% and various other firms showing significant growth in their holdings during the last quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Palo Alto Networks, with a consensus target price set at $209.61, signaling cautious optimism among the investment community.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 68.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,274 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 33,413 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,004,000 after buying an additional 23,586 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 131.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 19,703 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 11,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,971 shares in the last quarter. 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 Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total transaction of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 235,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,298,914.52. This trade represents a 33.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $122,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 41,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,452,332. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.61.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $172.88 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year high of $210.39. The company has a market capitalization of $115.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $196.04 and a 200-day moving average of $187.29.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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.

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