Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Verus Capital Partners LLC

Verus Capital Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,542 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $79,149,000 after acquiring an additional 32,626 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $67,232,000 after acquiring an additional 7,291 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $24,414,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.5% in the second quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 2,695 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $398.10 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $234.15 and a one year high of $400.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $355.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $333.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.91, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of a number of research reports. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. OTR Global reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total transaction of $341,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 41,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,175,564.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks 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.