Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Has $8 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 115.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,586 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 171 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 109.3% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 180 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Northland Securities cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on 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 target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW traded up $4.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.78. The stock had a trading volume of 11,416,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,559,007. The company's fifty day moving average is $178.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.96. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.