Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 299,899 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,861 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Palo Alto Networks worth $102,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 777,521 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $220,917,000 after purchasing an additional 22,154 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $2,226,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,210 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $9,720,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2,064.8% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 20,111 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,714,000 after acquiring an additional 19,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 26.3% in the first quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 37,662 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $10,701,000 after purchasing an additional 7,832 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Northland Securities raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.82.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total value of $11,439,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,373,165.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,373,165.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 351,452 shares of company stock valued at $118,643,279. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PANW traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $364.45. 143,633 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,945,326. The firm has a market cap of $118.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $327.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $233.81 and a 12-month high of $384.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.