2,045 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Bought by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,045 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities cut their price target 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. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 264,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.3%

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $2.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $199.60. 3,304,756 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,524,412. The firm has a market cap of $133.09 billion, a PE ratio of 112.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.09. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.