AlphaQuest LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,828 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $179.48 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.12, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $185.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

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.