Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 34,253 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0%, selling 34,253 shares and retaining approximately 826,185 shares valued at $141,090,000.
• Palo Alto Networks reported $2.29 billion in quarterly revenue, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a 15.3% year-over-year growth and an earnings per share of $0.80.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Palo Alto Networks with current ratings ranging from a "sell" to a "buy," while the consensus target price is $217.07.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 826,185 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 34,253 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Palo Alto Networks worth $141,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,004,000 after purchasing an additional 23,586 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $970,000. Finally, Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $168.17 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $193.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 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.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,080. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating 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 note on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.07.

Palo Alto Networks 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.

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