Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stake Increased by Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd

Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,506 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,611,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,725,148 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,427,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,486,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,533,419,000 after buying an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 6.8%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $181.26 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.01 and a 200-day moving average of $185.29. The firm has a market cap of $120.01 billion, a PE ratio of 102.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.