PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Purchases 16,000 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 200.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,000 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after buying an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after acquiring an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,277,739 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,324,387,000 after buying an additional 1,088,631 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0%

PANW traded up $3.94 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $202.05. 4,129,450 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,474,042. The company has a market cap of $134.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $185.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

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.