Quarry LP Grows Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 565.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 273 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $93,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.26.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 359,732 shares of company stock worth $118,815,557 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $332.13 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $230.09 and a one year high of $380.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $316.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.