Swiss National Bank Increases Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6%, holding 1,850,700 shares worth $315.8 million as of the first quarter.
• Recent analyst reports show diverse opinions on Palo Alto Networks, with target prices being adjusted down, yet the stock retains an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target of $209.61.
• The company's earnings report indicated a beat on EPS estimates, with revenue up 15.3% year-over-year, showcasing strong financial performance amid fluctuating stock activity.

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,850,700 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 11,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Palo Alto Networks worth $315,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Northland Securities decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.61.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $168.10 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $194.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.03. The firm has a market cap of $112.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $210.39.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, 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 transaction of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,080. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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