Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Acquires 82,706 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 110.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,273 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 82,706 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $28,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $1.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $186.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,209,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,728,123. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $142.01 and a one year high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $123.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The business's fifty day moving average price is $176.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.72.

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

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.