Robocap Asset Management Ltd Sells 10,332 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Robocap Asset Management trimmed its position in Palo Alto Networks by 23.8%, selling 10,332 shares and leaving 33,100 shares valued at $6.10 million, making PANW 5.4% of the firm's holdings (its 7th largest holding).
• Insider activity was mixed: Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares at an average $164.41 (~$3.73M), while CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares at $146.87 (~$10.0M), raising his stake to 343,394 shares (a 24.73% increase).
• The stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a $210.07 target; Palo Alto Networks has a $147.8B market cap and a PE of ~100, and it recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.03 vs. $0.94) on revenue of $2.59B, up 14.9% year‑over‑year.

Robocap Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,100 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 10,332 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 5.4% of Robocap Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Robocap Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $181.10 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $223.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is $163.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.19. The firm has a market cap of $147.78 billion, a PE ratio of 100.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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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