Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,147 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 4,017 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.5% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $36,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. St. Clair Advisors LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the second quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,467 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 1,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.79.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $183.44 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $202.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.45. The firm has a market cap of $127.86 billion, a PE ratio of 116.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at $56,119,152.78. This represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total transaction of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,228,330 shares of company stock worth $251,702,305. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.