Strategic Blueprint LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Strategic Blueprint LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,273 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 5,975 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Mizuho set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $182.90 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The company has a market cap of $149.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.05, a PEG ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.96 and a 200 day moving average of $181.62.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.