Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 172,149 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Captrust Financial Advisors lowered its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 702,861 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 172,149 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors owned approximately 0.10% of Palo Alto Networks worth $143,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 12.0% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 53,145 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $10,876,000 after acquiring an additional 5,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% during the second quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,565 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,413,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $169.19 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.20. The company has a market cap of $138.06 billion, a PE ratio of 93.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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.