GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 1,374 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in 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 last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Snider Financial Group lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the first quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 17,729 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 906 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 511 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.9%

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $1.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $200.57. The stock had a trading volume of 5,339,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,395,844. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $190.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 795,536 shares of company stock valued at $141,007,618 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PANW. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks 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.