Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,967 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 4,791 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $970,736,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,533,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,048,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $167.69 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.60 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.86.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.06.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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