Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 136.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,169 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,710 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $268,851,000 after acquiring an additional 129,371 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the period. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.2% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 681 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 815 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $178.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $118.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.50 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.83.

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Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 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 $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BTIG Research cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.06.

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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