KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 9,100 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 271,442 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $46,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position 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 period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing 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 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,243,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,356,888.56. This represents a 2.99% 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, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total value of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,298,914.52. The trade was a 33.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $3.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $196.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,655,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,399,274. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.42, a PEG ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.10. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year high of $208.39.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Stephens lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating 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 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.16.

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.