Nuveen LLC Invests $810.05 Million in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a substantial new stake in Palo Alto Networks by purchasing 4,747,109 shares, valued at approximately $810 million, indicating a growing interest in the cybersecurity firm.
• A significant portion, 79.82%, of Palo Alto Networks' stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, reflecting the stock's attractiveness to larger investors.
• Despite mixed analyst opinions, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $209.61, suggesting potential upward movement in value.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,747,109 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $810,047,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.72% of Palo Alto Networks as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth 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 holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $160,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $168.17. 10,213,853 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,916,460. The stock's fifty day moving average is $194.23 and its 200 day moving average is $186.91. The stock has a market cap of $112.14 billion, a PE ratio of 98.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.07.

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.