Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $5.82 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,468 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total value of $660,601.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $3,860,076.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at $1,167,770. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total transaction of $660,601.83. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,860,076.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PANW. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.17.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $320.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $103.72 billion, a PE ratio of 46.56, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.17 and a 52 week high of $380.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $301.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.