Postrock Partners LLC Makes New $1.23 Million Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Postrock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,738 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,226,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,609,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220,900 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% during 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 109.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,202,926 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $764,764,000 after buying an additional 2,197,765 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $388,155,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 91.4% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,839,400 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $334,697,000 after buying an additional 878,400 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $176.32 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $116.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.34, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $185.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.73.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BTIG Research downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

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.