Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC

Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 39.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,766 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 6,290 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.3% of Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after buying an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,611,013,000 after acquiring an additional 6,725,148 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,486,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,533,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW traded up $4.53 on Friday, hitting $201.50. 2,561,725 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,398,532. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.97. The business's fifty day moving average is $193.35 and its 200 day moving average is $185.44.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value 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. This represents a 2.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 668,722 shares of company stock worth $121,714,798. 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.