Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251,496 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,189 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $43,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of 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 grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $1.77 during trading 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. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $133.74 billion, a PE ratio of 114.61, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average is $190.70 and its 200 day moving average is $185.33.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 795,536 shares of company stock valued at $141,007,618 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Northland Securities cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.