Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 45,866 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 472,297 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 45,866 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $161,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.5% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,319 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.1% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 22.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 420,902 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $119,591,000 after purchasing an additional 78,260 shares during the last quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.5% in the first quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 9,495 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 4,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 828.7% during the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 48,571 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,800,000 after buying an additional 43,341 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $398.02 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $234.15 and a 12-month high of $400.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $355.84 and a 200-day moving average of $333.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.