Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 197.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,358 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 136,330 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $70,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $1,965,000. First Foundation Advisors boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 259 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,957 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,408,000 after buying an additional 3,599 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $319,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 23.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 881 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $384.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,983,359.33. This represents a 24.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ PANW traded down $7.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $387.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,204,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,931,820. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $234.15 and a twelve month high of $408.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $359.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $336.39. The company has a market capitalization of $126.01 billion, a PE ratio of 53.38, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.