Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 5,388 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 923,498 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,388 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $157,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $277,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $461,000. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.1% in the first quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 6,077 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,991 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,931 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.2%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $192.59 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.85. The firm has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a PE ratio of 110.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PANW. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.00.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by 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.