SFE Investment Counsel Buys 2,959 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

SFE Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,925 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,959 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 2.5% of SFE Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $1,427,048,000 after acquiring an additional 4,486,654 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 valued at $1,533,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,120,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,625 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0%

PANW traded up $2.11 on Friday, hitting $203.27. 3,457,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,288,193. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $196.14 and a 200-day moving average of $186.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.54 billion, a PE ratio of 116.15, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total transaction of $19,866,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,243,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $644,356,888.56. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.42.

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.