Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Acquires 35,501 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 61.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,631 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,501 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $184.80. 2,185,042 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,800,631. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $176.39 and a 200-day moving average of $184.69. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $142.00 and a one year high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $122.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.10, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on 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. BTIG Research lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.