Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 370,526 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 78.5%, now holding 101,363 shares worth approximately $17.3 million after selling 370,526 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Palo Alto Networks, with Guggenheim maintaining a "sell" rating at $130, while KeyCorp and Sanford C. Bernstein set targets at $220 and $225, respectively.
• Recent insider trading activity includes EVP Lee Klarich selling 120,774 shares valued at over $24 million, indicating a notable reduction of 33.90% in his holdings.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 78.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,363 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 370,526 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% during 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 buying an additional 23,586 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 106.9% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,770 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,981 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 81.6% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 71,013 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,922,000 after acquiring an additional 31,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of PANW traded up $2.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $203.27. The company had a trading volume of 3,457,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,288,193. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $196.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $135.54 billion, a PE ratio of 116.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,450,734.65. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.42.

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.