Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 12,080 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2%, holding 988,560 shares valued at approximately $168.7 million.
• Palo Alto Networks reported $0.80 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue up 15.3% year-over-year.
• Despite insider selling, hedge funds and institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks, indicating strong institutional support.

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 988,560 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 12,080 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.15% of Palo Alto Networks worth $168,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $160,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ PANW traded down $4.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $168.10. 14,530,774 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,529,738. The stock has a market cap of $112.09 billion, a PE ratio of 96.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $210.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $194.71 and a 200-day moving average of $187.03.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Northland Securities lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp cut Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.61.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.