Jefferson Bridge Capital LLC Invests $1.91 Million in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Jefferson Bridge Capital opened a new position in Palo Alto Networks, buying 10,350 shares worth about $1.91 million, which represents roughly 1.9% of its portfolio and is its 20th largest holding.
• Notable insider selling occurred: executives including EVP Dipak Golechha and Director James J. Goetz sold shares, and insiders collectively sold 149,552 shares worth about $27.8 million in the last quarter (insiders now own ~1.4% of the stock).
• Analyst sentiment is a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $209.95, while PANW trades near $170 and carries a high P/E ratio (~93.9), reflecting rich valuation despite recent growth.

Jefferson Bridge Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,350 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,000. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 1.9% of Jefferson Bridge Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Snider Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 23,377 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Asio Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 57,927 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $10,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares during the period. MBL Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 149.9% in the 4th quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 3,998 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,398 shares during the period. Finally, Steadtrust LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Steadtrust LLC now owns 3,385 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 61 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 other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 149,552 shares of company stock worth $27,779,427. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. New Street Research decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.95.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 4.9%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $169.87 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $161.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.85, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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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