Covestor Ltd Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 319.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,011 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,531 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $169.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,956,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,889,272. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.25 billion, a PE ratio of 95.52, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day moving average is $182.29 and its 200 day moving average is $184.90. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.18 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 939,318 shares of company stock valued at $165,384,602 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently 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.