Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases 12,719 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 348,991 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 12,719 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 1.5% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $71,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,301 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,248.9% during the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 10,899 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after buying an additional 10,091 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,234,551 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $457,279,000 after buying an additional 163,718 shares during the period. Finally, Richmond Investment Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.2% during the second quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PANW. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the sale, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 382,016 shares of company stock valued at $76,386,460. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $180.18 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $188.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.04. The company has a market capitalization of $125.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.04, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.76.

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

About Palo Alto Networks

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.