IFP Advisors Inc Acquires 1,017 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANWFree Report) by 29.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,447 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $751,276,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,709,428 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,455,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332,827 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,728,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,343,304 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $854,248,000 after purchasing an additional 715,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,025,000. 85.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Susquehanna cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Northland Securities downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.89.

View Our Latest Report on Palo Alto Networks

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director John Donovan sold 20,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.57, for a total transaction of $5,810,645.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,510,086.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director John Donovan sold 20,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.57, for a total transaction of $5,810,645.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,510,086.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,153 shares of company stock worth $44,107,332 in the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $285.24 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.30 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $324.60 and its 200 day moving average is $284.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.21.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANWGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

(Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANWFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)

Receive News & Ratings for Palo Alto Networks Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Palo Alto Networks and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.