Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Increases Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 91.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500,515 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 238,872 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.9% of Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC owned about 0.08% of Palo Alto Networks worth $91,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riposte Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,827,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 338,695 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $61,629,000 after buying an additional 138,790 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.6% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,998 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $934,000. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.8% during the fourth quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 29,990 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,457,000 after acquiring an additional 15,132 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $4.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $185.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,566,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,622,005. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $187.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.38. The firm has a market cap of $122.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.23, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week high of $208.39.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given 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 company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.06.

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.