Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 98.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 821,434 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 407,833 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.13% of Palo Alto Networks worth $149,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,552,888 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,010,403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067,838 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 423,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $77,096,000 after acquiring an additional 211,850 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.1% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 2,446 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 86.8% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 819,398 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $153,028,000 after purchasing an additional 380,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.6% in the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 76,639 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $13,945,000 after purchasing an additional 41,252 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BTIG Research cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 7.0 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $153.57 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.83 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly 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 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 anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 818,544 shares of company stock valued at $147,132,028 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.