OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 46.2% during Q1, now owning shares valued at $2.43 million.
• Institutional investors own 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks, with several hedge funds significantly increasing their positions, including Northern Trust Corp and GAMMA Investing LLC.
• Palo Alto Networks reported earnings of $0.80 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates, and its revenue was up 15.3% year-over-year, totaling $2.29 billion.

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 46.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,013 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 12,036 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 222,202 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $37,916,000 after buying an additional 11,466 shares during the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 6,870 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 9,065 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,547,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 124,976 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $21,326,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 18,410 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,141,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.61.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,564,964.44. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $3.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $172.89. 9,740,654 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,975,237. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.79, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $210.39. The firm's 50 day moving average is $195.36 and its 200-day moving average is $187.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current 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.