YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 2,223 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,535 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,223 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 57,520 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $9,815,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 35.8% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 330 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 10.4% during the first quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.8% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 417,071 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $71,169,000 after buying an additional 30,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 77.0% in the first quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 2,802 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $203.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.18, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 790,536 shares of company stock valued at $139,998,368. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.