6,211 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Acquired by Caxton Associates LP

Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,211 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,765,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 9,967 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 19,100 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $568,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,870 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $15,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beck Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 16,142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,586,000 after purchasing an additional 3,289 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $4.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $317.71. 656,564 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,458,019. The firm has a market cap of $102.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.17 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $321.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.30.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Macquarie upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.59.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,791,570. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $55,791,570. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 428,391 shares of company stock valued at $136,147,317. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.