Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 89,987 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 9,147 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $30,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.28.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $394.39 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $234.15 and a 52 week high of $408.53. The firm has a market cap of $128.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $357.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $335.01.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. This represents a 27.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. The trade was a 9.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.