NBW Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• NBW Capital LLC has decreased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 22.8%, selling 12,504 shares and now holding 42,394 shares valued at approximately $7.23 million.
• A significant amount of insider trading occurred, with EVP Nir Zuk selling 100,000 shares for around $17.28 million, while other insiders collectively sold over 669,000 shares during the last quarter.
• Despite insider sales, institutional ownership of Palo Alto Networks remains strong at 79.82%, reflecting continued investor interest in the company.

NBW Capital LLC cut its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 22.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,394 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 12,504 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.6% of NBW Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. NBW Capital LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 12,176 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Canyon Capital Management boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Hudson Canyon Capital Management now owns 10,500 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,850,700 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $315,803,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 21,634 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,706,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $215,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,450,734.65. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% 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 worth $126,423,337 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of PANW stock traded up $2.49 during trading on Monday, reaching $169.55. 4,914,387 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,058,582. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $210.39. The company has a market capitalization of $113.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.04, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average is $194.23 and its 200 day moving average is $186.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS 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 analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.07.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.