IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 56,667 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 45.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,803 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 56,667 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $11,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,004,000 after purchasing an additional 23,586 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,593 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 215.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.7% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $4.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $201.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,561,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,398,532. The stock has a market cap of $134.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.14, a PEG ratio of 5.63 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. The business's fifty day moving average is $193.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.44.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.36, for a total value of $19,336,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,343,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,502,253.76. The trade was a 2.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 668,722 shares of company stock valued at $121,714,798. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.