Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 77.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,406 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,352 shares during the quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $548,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded up $3.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $196.28. The stock had a trading volume of 4,297,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,411,937. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50-day moving average is $195.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% 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, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 293,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.