Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 219,111 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.2%, owning approximately 0.67% of the company, valued at $754.6 million.
• As of the latest earnings report, Palo Alto Networks beat earnings estimates, reporting $0.80 EPS and $2.29 billion in revenue, marking a 15.3% year-over-year growth.
• Analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with the average target price set at $209.61 and a mix of ratings indicating a general sentiment of "Moderate Buy".

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,422,037 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 219,111 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.67% of Palo Alto Networks worth $754,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,004,000 after purchasing an additional 23,586 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 53,760 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $9,782,000 after purchasing an additional 21,660 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $236,000. Finally, F M Investments LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 173,282 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,530,000 after purchasing an additional 64,315 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several research reports. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,564,964.44. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $1.04 on Friday, reaching $167.06. 9,831,203 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,794,964. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $194.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $210.39.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.