Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 102,167 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 1,718 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $34,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 65.6% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 5,519 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,568,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.9% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 25,168 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 175,109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $49,754,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.49.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $361.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $330.32. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $233.81 and a 12 month high of $384.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.