Allianz SE Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 79,713 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $14,683,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Zega Financial LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% in the third quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the third quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 9,853 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $2.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $170.64. The stock had a trading volume of 5,706,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,907,888. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $187.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.25.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.