Challenging Macro Economic Environment Dragged Palo Alto Networks (PANW) in Q4

TimesSquare Capital Management, an equity investment management company, released its “U.S. Mid Cap Growth Strategy” fourth-quarter investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, the strategy returned 4.18% (net), compared to 6.90% for the Russell Midcap Growth Index. For the calendar year, the strategy returned -22.13% (net) compared to the benchmark’s return of -26.72%. Weakness in Consumer Staples, Energy, Health Care, Information Technology, and Real Estate holdings led to the underperformance of the portfolio in the quarter. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2022.

TimesSquare U.S. 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 March 30, 2023, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) stock closed at $193.57 per share. One-month return of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was 1.03%, and its shares lost 4.97% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has a market capitalization of $59.015 billion.

TimesSquare U.S. Mid Cap Growth Strategy made the following comment about Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:

“Within Information Technology, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) offers network security solutions to enterprises, services providers, and government entities. The company delivered another strong quarter with revenues, billings, and earnings all above the consensus. Management recognizes a challenging macro environment that is altering customer behavior such as increased deal scrutiny and elongating sales cycles. Their shares pulled back by -15% during the quarter.”

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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, 85 hedge fund portfolios held Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 103 in the previous quarter.

We discussed Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in another article and shared the list of biggest SaaS companies in the world. 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.