Zimmermann Investment Management & Planning LLC Reduces Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Zimmermann Investment Management & Planning LLC reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,441 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 1,356 shares during the quarter. Zimmermann Investment Management & Planning LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, hitting $350.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,649,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,392,025. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.64 and a 12 month high of $380.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $331.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.58. The company has a market capitalization of $113.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total transaction of $10,559,160.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total transaction of $10,559,160.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 376,372 shares of company stock worth $121,925,593. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.49.

Palo Alto Networks 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.