Focus Financial Network Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Focus Financial Network Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 12.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,172 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 898 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,118,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,239 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after purchasing an additional 255,060 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $799,792,000 after purchasing an additional 198,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after purchasing an additional 114,742 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $362.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $118.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $233.81 and a 12 month high of $384.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $352.69 and its 200-day moving average is $329.01.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly 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. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total value of $341,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 41,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,175,564.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 315,252 shares of company stock worth $107,138,877. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PANW. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $415.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Eleven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.49.

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.