Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 86.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 227,913 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,766 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $41,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Scientech Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 9,928 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,806,000 after buying an additional 4,579 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 66,049 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,018,000 after purchasing an additional 33,465 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 65.0% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,037 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,010,000 after purchasing an additional 8,680 shares during the last quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 103.0% in the 4th quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28,480 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,603,000 after purchasing an additional 14,453 shares during the period. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 94.4% in the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 38,922 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,082,000 after purchasing an additional 18,896 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $192.98 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.72, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PANW. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.46.

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.