Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $99,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,239 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after acquiring an additional 198,078 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $757,321,000 after acquiring an additional 114,742 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,000,511 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $339,183,000 after acquiring an additional 73,922 shares during the period. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $282,406,000 after purchasing an additional 749,199 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $344.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $111.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $336.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.64 and a 12 month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released 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 firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567 over the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.