Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 39.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,971 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 29,014 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises 4.3% of Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $156.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.88 billion, a PE ratio of 98.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $185.67 and a 200 day moving average of $193.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.15 and a 52 week high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PANW. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 5th. HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.09.

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.