Nicollet Investment Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Nicollet Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,959 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 1.9% of Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nwam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.8% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $1,965,000. First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.8% in the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 259 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,957 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599 shares during the period. Finally, Cercano Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $15,498,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $381.56.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total transaction of $341,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,175,564.48. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $387.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $126.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.38, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $234.15 and a 12-month high of $408.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $359.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $336.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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.