Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Position Lifted by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 141.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 879,418 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 515,079 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $160,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after buying an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,427,048,000 after buying an additional 4,486,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,533,419,000 after buying an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $190.90 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $126.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, 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 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks 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.