&Partners Takes Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

&Partners purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,088 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $877,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PANW. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.17.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $9.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $320.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,203,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,960,115. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $301.84 and its 200 day moving average is $306.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.17 and a 1-year high of $380.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by 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.