Oak Thistle LLC Increases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 180.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,329 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,002 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.42.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $201.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,883,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,386,036. The firm has a market cap of $134.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.95, a PEG ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $195.97 and a 200-day moving average of $186.38.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 293,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. The trade was a 29.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,450,734.65. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.