Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Anatole Investment Management Ltd

Anatole Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 100.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,362 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,681 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 0.4% of Anatole Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Anatole Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 125.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 2,243 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 152.0% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,240 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764 shares during the last quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 84.8% during the fourth quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 297,537 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $54,140,000 after buying an additional 136,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.5% in the fourth quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 4,093 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $187.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $175.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.71. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.06.

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.