Umpqua Bank Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 89.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,409 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,320 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW traded down $4.99 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.96. 3,408,858 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,725,357. The company has a market cap of $122.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.20, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.38. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.50 and a 12-month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Scotiabank lifted their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.