Clg LLC Decreases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Clg LLC lessened its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,712 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Clg LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 25.2% during the first quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 1,588 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 5.7% during the first quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 6,441 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 90.6% during the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 12,412 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 5,899 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 54.9% during the first quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 10,665 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,781 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 90,600 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $15,460,000 after purchasing an additional 8,083 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $199.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $133.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.16, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $186.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.26.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 264,246 shares in the company, valued at $51,564,964.44. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

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.