Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Position Cut by Jackson Wealth Management LLC

Jackson Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 86.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,793 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 11,602 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,833,462,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,415,364,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth approximately $1,968,304,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,569,755,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,481,236,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $320.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $370.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.87.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $382.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $346.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 313.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $398.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total transaction of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 79,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,477,180. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 37,735 shares of company stock valued at $10,814,266 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.