Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $9.16 Million in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 45,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,163,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 162,384 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $33,230,000 after purchasing an additional 10,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 391,506 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $80,118,000 after purchasing an additional 46,301 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $167.01 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.52. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $136.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.27, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.