D.A. Davidson & CO. Buys 34,711 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 110.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,078 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,711 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business'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 value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.70.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.9 %

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $7.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $191.03. 5,451,305 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,377,549. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Equities research 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.