Cooper Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Cooper Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 58.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,252 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 1,728 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up 0.2% of Cooper Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Cooper Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $206.06 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $194.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.76. The firm has a market cap of $137.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.97.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stephens lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $122,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 41,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,452,332. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $127,820,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.