Stablepoint Partners LLC Sells 137 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Stablepoint Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,154 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 50,224 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $14,811,000 after buying an additional 26,546 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $814,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $372,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PANW. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.28.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,746.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 269,866 shares of company stock worth $88,620,447. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $373.92. The stock had a trading volume of 108,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,061,173. The firm has a market cap of $121.08 billion, a PE ratio of 54.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $233.81 and a 1 year high of $380.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $342.20 and its 200 day moving average is $320.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.