Horan Capital Advisors LLC. Grows Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Horan Capital Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 99.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,762 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,373 shares during the quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $1,156,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $24,414,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 961,000 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $328,470,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,844,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock traded down $1.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $182.97. 965,508 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,066,033. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $186.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.74. 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 $121.14 billion, a PE ratio of 103.03, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

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