Dnca Finance Sells 169,150 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Dnca Finance decreased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 62.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,650 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 169,150 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 1.6% of Dnca Finance’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Dnca Finance’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $21,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $316,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 172.9% in the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 3,531 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 2,237 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.6%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $198.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $205.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.25. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The company has a market capitalization of $138.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total transaction of $132,573.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,805 shares in the company, valued at $8,864,398.95. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock worth $249,260,680 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. New Street Research upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.09.

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.