Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Vident Advisory LLC

Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 153.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,335 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 115,249 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $34,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Grassi Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 7,910 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,372 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.6% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,937 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 4,504 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,258 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,325.5% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 26,996 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,912,000 after buying an additional 25,883 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $186.75. 4,898,365 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,628,151. The business's 50 day moving average is $178.11 and its 200-day moving average is $185.36. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.40.

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.