QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 27,270 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 55.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,338 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,270 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mason & Associates Inc lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.3% in the first quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 2,935 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,298 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 16,183 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% in the first quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.6% in the first quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 20,044 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.36, for a total value of $19,336,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,343,516 shares in the company, valued at $646,502,253.76. The trade was a 2.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW traded up $3.94 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $202.05. The company had a trading volume of 4,129,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,474,039. The company has a market cap of $134.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.83, a PEG 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $185.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for 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 firm's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS 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.