Recession Concerns Dragged Palo Alto Networks (PANW) in Q4
ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, released its fourth-quarter 2022 “Mid Cap Growth Strategy” investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. The strategy underperformed the Russell Midcap Growth Index in the fourth quarter. It gained across six of the 10 sectors in which it was invested in the quarter. The industrials, health care, and consumer discretionary sectors were the leading contributors while the IT sector was the primary detractor. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2022.
ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in its Q4 2022 investor letter. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a cybersecurity solutions provider. On February 16, 2023, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) stock closed at $172.02 per share. One-month return of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was 22.25% and its shares gained 3.39% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has a market capitalization of $52.011 billion.
ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Strategy made the following comment about Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
"Stock selection within the IT sector was the main detractor from relative performance during the period. In addition to rate hikes compressing the multiples of longerduration, high growth companies, recession concerns were also a headwind. IT companies which had proven resilient against customer budget reductions earlier in the year are starting to feel the impact of spending slowdowns as companies further scrutinize expenses in light of economic uncertainty. For example, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW), which provides enterprise security solutions including next-generation firewalls and threat detection software, faced a challenging environment as customers delayed purchases and orders. However, we remain convinced of the company’s long-term growth prospects as an industry leader in a critical field and as digital attacks and ransomware continue to grow."
[Shutterstock: 380107090, scyther5]
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is in 24th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 103 hedge fund portfolios held Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) at the end of the third quarter, which was 90 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in another article and shared the list of best cybersecurity stocks to buy heading into 2023. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2022 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
