Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Grows Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,600 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,083 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $548,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $244,871,000 after acquiring an additional 606,778 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $199.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $186.81 and its 200-day moving average is $185.29. The company has a market cap of $133.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.97. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays lowered 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, May 21st. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.00.

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.