CIBC Asset Management Inc Sells 6,033 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 130,951 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 6,033 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $38,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.1% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 17,091 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after buying an additional 9,759 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 9,950 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,333,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,958 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% in the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,537 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 279,947 shares of company stock valued at $80,644,647 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Argus lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.78.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Monday, hitting $294.48. The company had a trading volume of 2,344,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,123,207. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $292.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.36. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $201.17 and a one year high of $380.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.11.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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.