Guggenheim Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 86.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 405,395 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 187,914 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 0.6% of Guggenheim Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Guggenheim Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $73,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,048,033,000 after buying an additional 2,612,474 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,552,888 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,010,403,000 after acquiring an additional 2,067,838 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $970,736,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $167.69. 4,768,742 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,880,201. The firm has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a PE ratio of 94.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.71. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.60 and a 12-month high of $208.39.

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

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.06.

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.