Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 92.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,951,283 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,862,718 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,082,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $194.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $177.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.26. The company has a market capitalization of $128.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PANW. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Stephens cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Roth Capital began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.