KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 262,342 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $47,736,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $244,871,000 after acquiring an additional 606,778 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 103.0% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 97,351 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $17,714,000 after purchasing an additional 49,391 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $4.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $188.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,998,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,737,396. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.23. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction 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 $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.