Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Position Raised by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, owning a total of 62,312 shares valued at approximately $10.68 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have significantly modified their holdings in the company, with Brighton Jones LLC raising its position by 147.7% in the last quarter.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a quarterly EPS of $0.80, surpassing analyst expectations, and achieved revenue of $2.29 billion, reflecting a 15.3% increase year-over-year.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,312 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,831 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $10,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,004,000 after buying an additional 23,586 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $567,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 501.3% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 27,077 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $4,927,000 after buying an additional 22,574 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $496.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $217.01.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $173.55 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $192.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $210.39.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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