RD Finance Ltd Invests $3.65 Million in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• RD Finance Ltd opened a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter, buying 19,800 shares valued at about $3.65 million. The stake makes PANW about 3.7% of the firm’s holdings and its eighth-largest position.
• Several other hedge funds also increased or initiated positions, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks shares. That suggests the stock remains widely held among professional investors.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including directors John P. Key and James J. Goetz, and analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $211.64. Palo Alto Networks also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue growth of 14.9% year over year.

RD Finance Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,800 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,647,000. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 3.7% of RD Finance Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Painted Porch Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.64.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $207.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.85, a PEG ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $223.61. The business's fifty day moving average is $166.05 and its 200-day moving average is $180.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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