Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. Makes New $9.16 Million Investment 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) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 45,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,163,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $167.01 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.52. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. New Street Research dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reissued 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.19.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is 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.