Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,591 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 5,087 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $33,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 31,281,359 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $2,611,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,725,148 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,427,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,486,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,277,739 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,324,387,000 after buying an additional 1,088,631 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 795,536 shares of company stock valued at $141,007,618. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PANW. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ PANW traded down $1.96 on Thursday, hitting $202.34. 5,260,328 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,426,731. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $189.35 and a 200 day moving average of $185.33. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $134.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.97.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current 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.