Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Has $72.33 Million Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.9%, selling 17,154 shares and holding approximately 423,877 shares valued at $72.33 million.
• Insider sales include EVP Lee Klarich selling 120,774 shares for over $23.56 million, and EVP Nir Zuk selling 100,000 shares for $17.28 million, indicating significant changes in insider ownership.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on PANW, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $217.01, amidst a backdrop of varying ratings from several major firms.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 423,877 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 17,154 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $72,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $185.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Stephens lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Northland Securities decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $217.79.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $3.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $177.09. 9,535,538 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,219,376. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $192.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.42. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $210.39.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.58, for a total transaction of $20,722,402.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 206,718 shares in the company, valued at $35,468,674.44. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.