Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Novem Group

Novem Group increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 35.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,328 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,933 shares during the period. Novem Group's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $4.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $201.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,561,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,403,583. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.39. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.14, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PANW. 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. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,564,964.44. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 668,722 shares of company stock valued at $121,714,798 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.