Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Capital Analysts LLC

Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 190.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,319 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 865 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 602 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Morgens Waterfall Vintiadis & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,910,000. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 2,822 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.6% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $1,022,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $277.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $299.16 and its 200 day moving average is $290.18. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $176.30 and a one year high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $89.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.46.

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.