Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Sells 5,557 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 81.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,229 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 5,557 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,410,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 3,430 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 137,663 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $23,491,000 after acquiring an additional 10,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,898 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,803,000 after acquiring an additional 10,868 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $172.89 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $210.39. The stock has a market cap of $115.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.79, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average is $195.06 and its 200-day moving average is $187.10.

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, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.61.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.