Vanguard Group Inc. Has $12.51 Billion Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Vanguard Group raised its Q4 stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% to 67,929,063 shares, owning 9.75% of the company in a position valued at approximately $12.51 billion, and institutional investors hold about 79.82% of the stock.
• CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares at about $146.87 (~$10.0M), increasing his direct ownership to 343,394 shares (a 24.73% rise); however, insiders have sold 30,356 shares in the past three months and collectively own 1.40%.
• Equity analysts have a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $210.07, and Palo Alto recently beat expectations (Q EPS $1.03 vs $0.94; revenue $2.59B, up 14.9% year‑over‑year).

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.75% of Palo Alto Networks worth $12,512,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coquina Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $921,000. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich now owns 211,448 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $39,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,674 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,256,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. Finally, Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 2,995 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 3.1%

PANW stock opened at $178.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $161.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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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