Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Longbow Finance SA

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA has reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 17.7%, now owning 24,925 shares worth approximately $4.25 million.
• Several large investors, including Uniting Wealth Partners and Rehmann Capital Advisory Group, have made recent adjustments to their positions in Palo Alto Networks, indicating significant interest from institutional investors.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Palo Alto Networks, with two sell ratings, 13 hold ratings, and 27 buy ratings, resulting in a consensus price target of $209.42.

Longbow Finance SA lowered its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 17.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,925 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 5,353 shares during the quarter. Longbow Finance SA's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.42.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $160,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 293,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0%

PANW stock traded up $2.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $203.27. 3,457,359 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,288,193. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $196.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.97.

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