6,900 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Bought by Guardian Partners Inc.

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,900 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,193,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $268,851,000 after buying an additional 129,371 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 116.6% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business's 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 owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % 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 firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $10.52 on Thursday, reaching $174.44. 7,153,008 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,728,560. 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 cap of $115.50 billion, a PE ratio of 98.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. Loop Capital dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on 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. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.06.

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.