Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stake Lifted by Connors Investor Services Inc.

Connors Investor Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 95.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,354 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,113 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 1.7% of Connors Investor Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $36,316,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.7% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,606 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,528 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 16,836 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,754,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,642,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $187.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,841,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,794,098. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.71. The firm has a market cap of $124.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.75, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity 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 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.