Sienna Gestion Reduces Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion has reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 8.8%, selling 4,083 shares and holding 42,249 shares worth approximately $7 million now.
• Institutional investors currently own 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks, with major firms like Vanguard Group and Capital Research Global Investors significantly increasing their holdings in recent quarters.
• The company's share price is currently around $176.86, with a market capitalization of $117.93 billion and recent earnings reporting a 15.3% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Sienna Gestion decreased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,249 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 4,083 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.58, for a total value of $20,722,402.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 206,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,468,674.44. This represents a 36.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $217.79.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock traded up $3.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $177.09. 9,535,538 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,219,376. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.08 billion, a PE ratio of 101.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $210.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $192.00 and a 200-day moving average of $186.42.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.