Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Alpha Family Trust

Alpha Family Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 81.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,020 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Alpha Family Trust’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $810,047,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,427,048,000 after acquiring an additional 4,486,654 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,120,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047,625 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 92.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,951,283 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,082,895,000 after acquiring an additional 2,862,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 18,802.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,410,290 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $411,292,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397,539 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.58, for a total transaction of $20,722,402.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 206,718 shares in the company, valued at $35,468,674.44. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $177.09 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $210.39. The company has a market capitalization of $118.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $192.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.41.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.79.

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.