Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes $3.46 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 19,003 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,458,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirova US LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 94.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,651,964 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $300,591,000 after purchasing an additional 801,174 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 6,060 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 3,284 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 16,908 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,077,000 after acquiring an additional 8,633 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,621 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $16,307,000 after acquiring an additional 44,186 shares during the period. Finally, Freemont Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 14,200 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PANW. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ PANW opened at $183.10 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $185.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.50 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $121.23 billion, a PE ratio of 103.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.