KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Increases Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.2% in Q4, buying 8,900 shares to hold 290,142 shares valued at about $53.44 million at quarter-end.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy on PANW with an average target of $210.07, while recent price targets range from $183 to $265 and several firms have reiterated buy/overweight ratings.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly expectations (EPS $1.03 vs. $0.94) with revenue up 14.9% to $2.59B, but insiders sold 30,356 shares (~$4.98M) last quarter and now own just 1.40% of the company.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,142 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $53,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% in the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group set a $183.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.07.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $174.96 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $160.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.61. The stock has a market cap of $142.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.66, a PEG ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 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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