1,295 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Acquired by Poinciana Advisors Group LLC

Poinciana Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,295 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 6,725,148 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during 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 buying an additional 4,486,654 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in 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 last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.4%

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $4.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.39. The stock had a trading volume of 7,403,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,412,170. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $195.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total value of $19,866,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,243,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $644,356,888.56. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $122,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 41,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,452,332. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.