Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 54.9% in the first quarter, owning a total of 9,581 shares valued at approximately $1.63 million.
• Several major institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Northern Trust Corp, have also significantly boosted their holdings, showcasing strong interest in Palo Alto Networks.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Palo Alto Networks, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging around $217.79 per share.

Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 54.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,581 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 1.5% of Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,775,544 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $10,712,019,000 after buying an additional 1,541,637 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after acquiring an additional 4,486,654 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,277,739 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,324,387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,631 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,235,406 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,234,650,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,120,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047,625 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Roth Capital started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.79.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $177.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.19, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $210.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $192.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.41.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $122,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 41,433 shares in the company, valued at $8,452,332. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337. 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.

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