Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stake Increased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 115.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 392,270 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 210,200 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $71,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,589 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 3,007 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 200 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,556,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 818,544 shares of company stock worth $147,132,028 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. BTIG Research lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.4 %

PANW traded up $2.21 on Wednesday, reaching $154.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,700,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,895,258. The company has a market capitalization of $102.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.38, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $183.39 and a 200-day moving average of $184.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $134.83 and a one year high of $208.39.

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