PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Takes $68.32 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 365,622 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,316,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $181.10 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The stock has a market cap of $147.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $163.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks 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.