Lyell Wealth Management LP Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Lyell Wealth Management LP raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 100.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 158,186 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,305 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 2.6% of Lyell Wealth Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Lyell Wealth Management LP's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $28,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,113,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,249,594 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,612,474 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 199.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,213,073 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,634,701 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $297,450,000 after purchasing an additional 848,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 796,964 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.70.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $7.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $191.03. 5,451,305 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,377,549. The business's fifty day moving average is $187.20 and its 200-day moving average is $182.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.62, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.