Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 54.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,564 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,648 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This represents a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $384.76.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $7.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $387.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,204,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,931,820. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $359.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $336.39. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $234.15 and a twelve month high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.