Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) EVP Nir Zuk Sells 168,000 Shares of Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) EVP Nir Zuk sold 168,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.39, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,821,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Nir Zuk also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, October 1st, Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $396.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $366.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.22. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.09 and a 52-week high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is going to split on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $416.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $390.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $402.03.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.