Insight Inv LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Insight Inv LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1,621.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,381 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,255 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.2% of Insight Inv LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Insight Inv LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,142,122,000 after acquiring an additional 31,281,359 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $2,611,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,486,654 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Northland Securities decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.3%

PANW traded up $4.53 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $201.50. 2,561,725 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,385,172. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $192.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.45.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.36, for a total transaction of $19,336,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,343,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $646,502,253.76. This represents a 2.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 value of $160,840.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,450,734.65. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 668,722 shares of company stock valued at $121,714,798. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.