First Interstate Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

First Interstate Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 comprises approximately 0.5% of First Interstate Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. First Interstate Bank's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th 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. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 6.8%

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $13.99 on Thursday, hitting $192.07. 9,212,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,404,735. The stock has a market cap of $128.07 billion, a PE ratio of 109.75, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $195.05 and a 200-day moving average of $185.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,243,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,356,888.56. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total value of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 235,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,298,914.52. This trade represents a 33.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $127,820,829. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.

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.