Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Position Boosted by Bfsg LLC

Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 107.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,082 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,762 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,048,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,474 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 199.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,822,336 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $333,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,073 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,634,701 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $297,450,000 after acquiring an additional 848,127 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,562,722 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $284,353,000 after acquiring an additional 796,964 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. 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 report on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 4.0 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $7.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $190.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,317,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,309,446. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $187.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.95. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $126.37 billion, a PE ratio of 107.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.14.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.