Summit Global Investments Purchases Shares of 1,234 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,234 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,609,486,000 after purchasing an additional 220,900 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,048,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,474 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,197,765 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $388,155,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,839,400 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $334,697,000 after purchasing an additional 878,400 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. BTIG Research lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Guggenheim lowered 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. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ PANW opened at $189.95 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.50 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $187.31 and its 200 day moving average is $185.38. The company has a market cap of $125.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.