Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Holdings Lifted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,222,845 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 54,269 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.18% of Palo Alto Networks worth $225,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at approximately $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $136,859,000 after purchasing an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $277,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,077,000 after purchasing an additional 15,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,554,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $183.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $150.13 billion, a PE ratio of 101.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.16 and a 200-day moving average of $180.84. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm's revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Arete Research upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.84.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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