Emerald Advisers LLC Sells 1,745 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Emerald Advisers LLC reduced its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 33.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,461 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 1,745 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $3.33 during trading on Monday, hitting $190.72. 5,044,685 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,473,708. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $195.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.73. The company has a market capitalization of $127.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $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 fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities lowered their target price 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. Stephens cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total value of $19,866,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,243,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $644,356,888.56. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 41,433 shares in the company, valued at $8,452,332. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.