Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Position Raised by Stony Point Capital LLC

Stony Point Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 86.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,994 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 60,239 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises 4.9% of Stony Point Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Stony Point Capital LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $23,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 906 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 511 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at $55,458,002.70. The trade was a 29.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of PANW stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $194.48. 9,202,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,679,412. 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 cap of $128.77 billion, a PE ratio of 109.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day moving average is $178.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.32.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.46.

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.