Sit Investment Associates Inc. Acquires 8,055 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11.8%, acquiring an additional 8,055 shares for a total of 76,435 shares valued at approximately $13 million.
• This quarter, 669,248 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock were sold by insiders, highlighting notable insider trading activity, including transactions by Director Aparna Bawa and EVP Nir Zuk.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Palo Alto Networks, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.52, while shares opened at $176.86 recently.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,435 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,055 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,271 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the first quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,047 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Crew Capital Management Ltd. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,310 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of PANW traded up $3.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $177.09. 9,535,538 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,219,376. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $210.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.41. The company has a market cap of $118.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $496.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by 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.