Ostrum Asset Management Purchases 11,406 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Ostrum Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 87.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,506 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,406 shares during the period. Ostrum Asset Management's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,737 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $22,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,606 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,528 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,915,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 16,836 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $5,754,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $167.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $180.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.60 and a 1-year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current 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.

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