Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Holdings Raised by Freemont Management S.A.

Freemont Management S.A. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 100.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,200 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 1.1% of Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.8% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,590 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 42.0% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,432 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 1,311 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.6% in the 4th quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 9,929 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 4,879 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,000,640 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $182,076,000 after buying an additional 488,250 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 370.5% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,370 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,251,000 after buying an additional 9,741 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $185.00 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PANW. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.