Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Holdings Decreased by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 32.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 273,726 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 131,516 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.08% of Palo Alto Networks worth $77,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 232.8% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 426 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 84.0% in the first quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.4% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,138 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $921,000. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 182.1% in the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,277 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,625,000 after acquiring an additional 10,507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,182 shares of company stock valued at $74,850,597 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $3.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $337.69. 375,950 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,790,576. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $307.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.34 billion, a PE ratio of 49.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.17 and a 12 month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.29.

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.