Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Sells 339 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA cut its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 51,209 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 339 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 2.0% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $336,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $840,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 65,572 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $19,336,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,903 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $329.75 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.64 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $107.37 billion, a PE ratio of 47.93, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $336.27 and a 200-day moving average of $312.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock valued at $154,029,567. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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.