Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Sara Bay Financial

Sara Bay Financial lessened its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,254 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 0.4% of Sara Bay Financial’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Sara Bay Financial’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 568,046 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $96,931,000 after purchasing an additional 8,501 shares in the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,959 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $9,037,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,403 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.3%

PANW opened at $199.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $133.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.45, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.09.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 789,736 shares of company stock valued at $139,837,528 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.