Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $8.83 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,934 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 15,357 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $675,865,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $502,263,000 after buying an additional 1,282,738 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,290,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,589 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.9% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,104,939 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $430,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $162,161,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $147.02 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.43. The company has a market cap of $119.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.23, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at $57,096,383.61. This trade represents a 28.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 144,252 shares of company stock valued at $26,947,635 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.19.

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.