Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 942 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,423 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 942 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 277.8% during the third quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 136 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $4.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $300.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,839,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,264,754. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.75 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.11 billion, a PE ratio of 46.69, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $285.98 and its 200 day moving average is $293.70.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, January 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Capital One Financial lowered Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $302.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Northland Securities downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,917 shares of company stock worth $44,335,843 over the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.