Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group boosted its Palo Alto Networks stake by 376% in the fourth quarter, ending with 24,195 shares valued at about $4.46 million.
• Institutional interest in PANW remains strong, with 79.82% of the stock owned by institutions and hedge funds; several other firms also increased or initiated positions in the cybersecurity company.
• Shares of Palo Alto Networks have rallied sharply, recently trading near their 52-week high at $260.58, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $226.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 376.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,195 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,112 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $136,859,000 after acquiring an additional 384,985 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $277,828,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,077,000 after buying an additional 15,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,554,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $260.58 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $185.14 and a 200-day moving average of $182.38. The company has a market capitalization of $212.63 billion, a PE ratio of 143.97, a P/E/G ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $261.41.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,355. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.33.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.