Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. Makes New $9.16 Million Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake of 45,000 Palo Alto Networks shares in Q3, valued at approximately $9.16 million.
• Palo Alto Networks recently beat analysts' estimates, reporting $1.03 EPS versus $0.94 expected and revenue of $2.59 billion, up 14.9% year‑over‑year.
• Company insiders have been net sellers—EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares—and insiders sold a total of 149,252 shares (~$27.9 million) in the last 90 days, while institutional investors own about 79.8% of the stock.

Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 45,000 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $9,163,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $167.01 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $169.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.52. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.78.

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. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. New Street Research dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reissued 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.19.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.