Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 518,163 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,282 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $175,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $336,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $1,020,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of PANW opened at $335.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $108.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.64 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $335.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $310.48.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly 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 company 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 for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total transaction of $660,601.83. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $3,860,076.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total transaction of $660,601.83. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $3,860,076.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 466,238 shares of company stock worth $154,690,169 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

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.