Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors trimmed its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.1%, selling 6,297 shares and leaving it with 199,253 shares valued at about $36.7 million.
• CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares at an average $146.87 (≈$10.0 million), increasing his holding by 24.73% to 343,394 shares valued at roughly $50.4 million.
• Palo Alto beat quarterly expectations with $1.03 EPS vs. $0.94 est. and revenue of $2.59 billion (up 14.9% year-over-year), and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $210.07.

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,253 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 6,297 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $36,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bender Robert & Associates raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Bender Robert & Associates now owns 54,824 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $10,099,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wealth Partners raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 4,710 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 26,497 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,881,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $1,313,000. Finally, TBH Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 129.7% during the 4th quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 17,674 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,256,000 after purchasing an additional 9,978 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $178.54 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The company has a market capitalization of $145.69 billion, a PE ratio of 98.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $161.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.30.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PANW. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks 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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