Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 171,714 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 87.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 368,414 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 171,714 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $67,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of 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. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PANW. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, OTR Global reaffirmed a "negative" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.70.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.9 %

PANW stock traded down $7.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $191.03. 5,376,314 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,326,732. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.95. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $126.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.62, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.