AMI Asset Management Corp Sells 3,598 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

AMI Asset Management Corp reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 197,954 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 3,598 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 2.3% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $40,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $8,864,398.95. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.92, for a total transaction of $25,594,426.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 149,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,616,344.80. This represents a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 376,922 shares of company stock valued at $77,963,339 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $186.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $130.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.32, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $223.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $200.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.06.

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

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.