Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Cuts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,229 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 4,995 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 80,651 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $22,915,000 after buying an additional 15,725 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 129.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 43,706 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,418,000 after buying an additional 24,682 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 284.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 137,656 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $39,112,000 after purchasing an additional 101,858 shares during the period. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, BigSur Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 110.2% in the 1st quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,505 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,394,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PANW. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, June 21st. Macquarie lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 428,591 shares of company stock valued at $137,275,079 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $10.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $305.60. 3,524,599 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,378,765. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $321.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.17 and a 1 year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.