Investment Partners LTD. Takes $280,000 Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Investment Partners LTD. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,643 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in 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 period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $206.06. The stock had a trading volume of 3,085,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,384,103. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $194.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.40 billion, a PE ratio of 117.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.36, for a total transaction of $19,336,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,343,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $646,502,253.76. The trade was a 2.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $127,820,829 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Northland Securities reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Roth Capital started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

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.