Cim Investment Management Inc. Buys 2,543 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 96.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,178 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,543 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $1.64 on Monday, hitting $169.98. The company had a trading volume of 5,098,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,901,559. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.18 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $182.29 and a 200-day moving average of $184.90.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim cut Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks 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.