North Star Asset Management Inc. Purchases 2,199 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 100.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,398 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $187.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,853,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,590,369. The firm has a market cap of $125.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.16 and a 200-day moving average of $185.20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Capital started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.40.

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.