Champlain Investment Partners LLC Has $135.85 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 82.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 746,608 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 338,344 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Palo Alto Networks worth $135,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.69. 4,768,742 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,872,875. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.60 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The company's 50 day moving average price is $180.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.73. The firm has a market capitalization 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.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks 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.