Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Grows Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 73.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,906 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,737 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.3% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total transaction of $64,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,746.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $377,373,165.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 351,452 shares of company stock valued at $118,643,279 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $376.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.1 %

PANW traded down $4.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $362.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,563,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,971,968. The company has a market cap of $117.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.98, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $327.33. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $233.81 and a 1 year high of $384.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.