Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 21.4% in Q4, acquiring 143,571 shares to hold 814,897 shares (~0.12% ownership) valued at $150,104,000.
• Wall Street consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $209.95, while individual analyst targets range roughly from $185 to $225.
• Palo Alto Networks recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.03 vs. $0.94; revenue $2.59B, +14.9% YoY) but currently trades at a high valuation (P/E ~92.73) with a market cap near $137 billion.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 814,897 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 143,571 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.12% of Palo Alto Networks worth $150,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% in the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Mizuho set a $200.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Arete Research upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.95.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $167.85 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $136.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.73, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.11. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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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