Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Position Lifted by Valeo Financial Advisors LLC

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,767 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $548,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ PANW traded down $1.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,338,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,392,870. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.79. The firm has a market cap of $126.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $160,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,450,734.65. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,640,080. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays cut their price target 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. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Northland Securities cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.

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.