First Interstate Bank Buys 7,538 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

First Interstate Bank increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 17.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,283 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,538 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 0.5% of First Interstate Bank's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. First Interstate Bank's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $10.91 during trading on Thursday, reaching $195.15. 4,113,484 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,380,166. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $194.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.76. The firm has a market cap of $130.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.36, for a total transaction of $19,336,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,343,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $646,502,253.76. This trade represents a 2.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $127,820,829 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.