BIT Capital GmbH Increases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• BIT Capital GmbH significantly increased its ownership in Palo Alto Networks by 565.8%, acquiring an additional 4,877 shares during the quarter, bringing its total holdings to 5,739 shares valued at approximately $979,000.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly earnings of $0.80 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations and achieving a 15.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.29 billion.
• The company's stock has seen a one-year range between $142.01 and $210.39, with a current market capitalization of $115.28 billion.

BIT Capital GmbH increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 565.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,739 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,877 shares during the period. BIT Capital GmbH's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 14,842 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Heritage Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Trust Co now owns 12,206 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 31,353 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 17,200 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 71,093 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of PANW traded down $1.88 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $171.00. 11,170,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,542,559. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $210.39. The company's 50 day moving average is $196.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.36. The company has a market capitalization of $114.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.71, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PANW. Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and set 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-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.61.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $122,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 41,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,452,332. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total value of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 235,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,298,914.52. This represents a 33.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 448,474 shares of company stock valued at $88,420,934 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.