Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 291,850 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,062 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 0.7% of Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $49,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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 note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $202.34 on Friday. 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 $134.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $190.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.39.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 795,536 shares of company stock valued at $141,007,618 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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