Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Lido Advisors LLC

Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 112.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,731 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 111,091 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $38,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.5% in the fourth quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,427,048,000 after buying an additional 4,486,654 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.4% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 397,698 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $72,365,000 after buying an additional 200,199 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 95.4% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 87,972 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $16,007,000 after buying an additional 42,955 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 511 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PANW. Susquehanna raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $186.27. 4,618,459 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,804,865. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $176.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.