Blueshift Asset Management LLC Has $328,000 Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 55.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,800 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,235 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. RB Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zega Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $182.32 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $186.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.71 billion, a PE ratio of 102.72, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.