Ostrum Asset Management Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Ostrum Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 87.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,506 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,406 shares during the quarter. Ostrum Asset Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,611,013,000 after acquiring an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $970,736,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,533,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,048,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Loop Capital reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.06.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

PANW stock opened at $167.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.47, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $180.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.60 and a 12-month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.