Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 15,904 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Cresset Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,489 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 15,904 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $31,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $220.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Tigress Financial initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.09.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total value of $132,573.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,864,398.95. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock valued at $249,260,680 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $198.84 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.36. The stock has a market cap of $138.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.