Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 14.2%, now holding 73,816 shares, which accounts for 6.3% of its total portfolio, making it the company's 3rd largest position.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a 15.3% year-over-year increase in revenue, with earnings per share (EPS) of $0.80 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.77.
• The company's stock has seen a 52-week range from $144.15 to $210.39, currently trading around $168.17, and analysts have set a consensus price target of approximately $217.07.

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,816 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 12,190 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 6.3% of Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,004,000 after purchasing an additional 23,586 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $970,000. Finally, Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $1.46 on Wednesday, hitting $176.86. 11,932,780 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,553,770. The firm's 50-day moving average is $193.26 and its 200 day moving average is $186.70. The company has a market capitalization of $117.93 billion, a PE ratio of 101.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $185.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $217.52.

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.