Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Sells 12,008 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Sierra Summit Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.7%, selling 12,008 shares and now owning 64,631 shares, valued at approximately $11 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, with EVP Lee Klarich selling 120,774 shares valued at over $20 million, leading to a significant decrease in his position.
• Analysts have mixed feelings about Palo Alto Networks, with price targets ranging from $205 to $235 and the current average rating being a "Moderate Buy."

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 64,631 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 12,008 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 2.4% of Sierra Summit Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $11,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,271 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,047 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,310 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.61.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were 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 approximately $35,468,674.44. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $167.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.46, a PEG ratio of 3.99 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $194.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.92.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The business's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.

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