Financial Counselors Inc. Increases Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,811 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,004,000 after acquiring an additional 23,586 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 215.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, 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 sold 547,948 shares of company stock worth $103,462,223 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $2.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $203.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,409,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,387,987. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $194.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.57, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.97.

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. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.