AQR Capital Management LLC Has $22.24 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 43.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,589 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 51,208 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $22,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $341.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $110.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.68, a PEG ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.09 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $337.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,791,570. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 359,732 shares of company stock worth $118,815,557 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.26.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.