Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC

Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 100.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,578 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,785 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 3.0% of Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $697,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,299,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $5,316,000. ZEGA Investments LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $2,284,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $4.99 on Wednesday, hitting $184.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,408,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,725,357. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $187.31 and a 200-day moving average of $185.38. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.50 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $122.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. BTIG Research cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.06.

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.