Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 215,559 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1,030.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 236,474 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 215,559 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $43,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. GS Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.8% in the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 15,341 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 7,545 shares during the period. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 200 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 133,492 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $24,290,000 after acquiring an additional 68,450 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 295,050 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $53,687,000 after acquiring an additional 150,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 36,334 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $6,611,000 after purchasing an additional 16,451 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ PANW traded up $5.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $189.95. The company had a trading volume of 5,336,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,737,396. The company's fifty day moving average is $186.92 and its 200-day moving average is $185.23. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $125.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.