NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Purchases 2,026 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,075 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,142,122,000 after purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,533,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,486,654 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,277,739 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,324,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW traded down $1.40 on Friday, hitting $196.27. The company had a trading volume of 3,815,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,482,749. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.