Rheos Capital Works Inc. Reduces Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Rheos Capital Works Inc. cut its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 52.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 34,000 shares during the quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $10,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at $25,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total value of $11,439,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,373,165.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,187,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,373,165.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 351,452 shares of company stock valued at $118,643,279 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $373.23 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.81 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $346.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $321.63. The company has a market capitalization of $120.85 billion, a PE ratio of 54.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.28.

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.