CWA Asset Management Group LLC Acquires 4,281 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 63.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,995 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,281 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,427,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,486,654 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,533,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target 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 issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded down $0.54 on Friday, hitting $199.24. 8,285,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,480,472. The business's fifty day moving average is $186.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.29. 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 $132.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.85, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.