Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 45.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,104 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 135,410 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Palo Alto Networks worth $54,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ PANW traded down $7.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $335.82. 2,367,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,328,734. The company has a market cap of $108.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.64 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $335.82 and a 200 day moving average of $310.48.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.08.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.54, for a total value of $22,436,448.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 694,228 shares in the company, valued at $233,635,491.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 466,238 shares of company stock valued at $154,690,169 in the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.