Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 10,123 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 378,537 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,123 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $64,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake 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. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays lowered 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $1.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $194.39. 3,460,345 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,494,323. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.52, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50 day moving average is $181.56 and its 200-day moving average is $185.03.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.