Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 18,974 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.8%, selling 18,974 shares and now holds approximately 377,400 shares valued at $64.4 million.
• Analysts have differing views on Palo Alto Networks, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.61, while Wells Fargo lifted its target to $235.00.
• Insider transactions show significant selling activity, with executives selling over 569,248 shares in the past three months, indicating potential concerns or profit-taking within the company.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 377,400 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 18,974 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $64,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th 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 grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,564,964.44. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $3.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.89. The company had a trading volume of 9,740,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,975,237. The business's 50 day moving average price is $195.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.19. The stock has a market cap of $115.28 billion, a PE ratio of 98.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.94. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share 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.