M&G Investment Management Ltd. Sells 10,365 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

M&G Investment Management Ltd. lessened its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,716 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 10,365 shares during the period. M&G Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSG Advisors LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 5,160 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 300 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 4,178 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 148.9% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 189,801 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $44,497,000 after acquiring an additional 113,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 137,104 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $32,143,000 after buying an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $316.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $36,334,289.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $4.44 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $316.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,649,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,085,263. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.75 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.35 billion, a PE ratio of 49.33, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50 day moving average is $286.03 and its 200 day moving average is $296.56.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share 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.