Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Position Trimmed by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA trimmed its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 20.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,615 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 13,860 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,110 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sepio Capital LP boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 944 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.49.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total value of $10,559,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,259,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,443,596.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total value of $10,559,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,259,567 shares in the company, valued at $369,443,596.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,372 shares of company stock worth $118,440,693. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $350.75. 3,506,656 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,430,739. The stock has a market cap of $113.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $330.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.28. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.64 and a twelve month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.