Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $35.56 Million in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 194,742 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $35,556,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Zega Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 9,853 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $2.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,965,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,896,104. The firm has a market cap of $102.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.83 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $183.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.91.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PANW shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital lowered 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. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 818,544 shares of company stock valued at $147,132,028 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.