Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 29.6%, acquiring an additional 39,900 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 174,596 shares valued at approximately $29.8 million.
• Insider selling occurred recently, with EVP Lee Klarich selling 120,774 shares for over $20.7 million, representing a 36.88% reduction in their ownership.
• Palo Alto Networks is experiencing a mixed response from analysts, with recent ratings indicating potential price targets ranging from $177.00 to $235.00, while the average rating is classified as a "Moderate Buy."

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 29.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,596 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,900 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $29,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $810,047,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,427,048,000 after acquiring an additional 4,486,654 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,120,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 92.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,951,283 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,082,895,000 after acquiring an additional 2,862,718 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $496.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of PANW stock traded up $3.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $177.09. 9,535,538 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,219,376. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $210.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.41. The stock has a market cap of $118.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.19, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.