Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Holdings Decreased by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,690,807 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 330,332 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.25% of Palo Alto Networks worth $344,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $675,865,000. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth approximately $340,883,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $502,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,738 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,290,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,589 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.9% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,104,939 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $430,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of PANW opened at $167.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $136.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $169.84 and its 200-day moving average is $189.52. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. New Street Research lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.

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.