M&T Bank Corp Acquires 11,495 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.6%, adding 11,495 shares to hold 145,791 shares worth about $26.9 million at quarter-end.
• Palo Alto’s CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares at an average $146.87 (≈$10.0 million), raising his ownership to 343,394 shares — a 24.7% increase.
• Palo Alto beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.03 vs. $0.94) with revenue of $2.59 billion (up 14.9% year-over-year); analysts have a consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $210.07.

M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,791 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 11,495 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $26,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $184.56 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $163.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.97, a P/E/G ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.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 previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PANW. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. New Street Research cut 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 Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $183.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.07.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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