Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 4,931 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,159 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 4,931 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $190.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.25. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.76, a PEG ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. New Street Research increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.99.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,878,351.95. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 261,248 shares of company stock worth $53,316,149. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.