University of Chicago Buys Shares of 1,560 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• The University of Chicago has made a new investment in Palo Alto Networks, acquiring 1,560 shares valued at approximately $266,000, which now represents 0.4% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a generally positive outlook on Palo Alto Networks, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.42.
• Palo Alto Networks reported $0.80 earnings per share for the recent quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 15.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.

University of Chicago bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,560 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $266,000. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 0.4% of University of Chicago's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,725,148 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted 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 acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,486,654 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 17.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,120,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total transaction of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,298,914.52. The trade was a 33.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 41,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,452,332. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ PANW traded down $0.72 on Friday, reaching $172.88. The stock had a trading volume of 16,231,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,904,851. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $210.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $196.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.19.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks 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.