Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Lowers Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 69.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 5,139 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after buying an additional 1,002,239 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $924,905,000 after buying an additional 30,013 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after buying an additional 198,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,971 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $515,147,000 after buying an additional 84,151 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ PANW traded up $3.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $343.27. 3,177,152 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,364,150. The company has a market cap of $111.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.17 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $324.72 and a 200 day moving average of $310.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total value of $10,559,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,259,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,443,596.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total value of $10,559,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,259,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,443,596.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,055,533.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 367,315 shares of company stock valued at $118,696,590. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.27.

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.