Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 192,480 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,184 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $32,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $187.39 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $195.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.95 billion, a PE ratio of 107.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PANW. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total value of $24,258,665.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,482 shares in the company, valued at $47,298,914.52. This represents a 33.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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