Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel decreased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,542 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,228 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 3.0% of SFE Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $11,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $382,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,495 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 363,133 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $107,081,000 after acquiring an additional 75,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 782 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PANW. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded up $3.87 on Thursday, hitting $281.20. 2,427,750 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,575,287. The business’s fifty day moving average is $299.16 and its 200 day moving average is $290.18. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.30 and a 52 week high of $380.84. The company has a market capitalization of $90.86 billion, a PE ratio of 44.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.