Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 101.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,921,919 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 969,693 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.29% of Palo Alto Networks worth $349,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 14,134 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,831,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $18,987,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,034,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,899,185. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $187.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.46. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $113.42 billion, a PE ratio of 96.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share 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.