USA Financial Formulas Invests $1.35 Million in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,947 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,349,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 91.0% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,683 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $79,149,000 after acquiring an additional 32,626 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $799,792,000 after acquiring an additional 198,078 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,404 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 8,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,377 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $410.00 price objective for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $371.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total value of $11,439,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,187,567 shares in the company, valued at $377,373,165.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares in the company, valued at $377,373,165.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 269,866 shares of company stock valued at $88,620,447. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $6.53 on Thursday, reaching $369.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,224,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,090,329. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $233.81 and a 1-year high of $380.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $339.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.54. The company has a market capitalization of $119.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.13.

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