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

Northeast Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 73.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,460 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 42,226 shares during the quarter. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $16,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $548,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $244,871,000 after purchasing an additional 606,778 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.36, for a total value of $19,336,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,343,516 shares in the company, valued at $646,502,253.76. The trade was a 2.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 264,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,564,964.44. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. 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. HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $195.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $130.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.39, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.03. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.