Synovus Financial Corp Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 79.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,970 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,365 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $11,142,122,000 after purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,611,013,000 after acquiring an additional 6,725,148 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $970,736,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,775,171 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $868,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Guggenheim lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of PANW stock traded up $4.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $174.17. 217,835 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,879,582. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.18 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The stock's 50 day moving average is $181.95 and its 200-day moving average is $184.92. The company has a market cap of $115.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks 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.