Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Oxler Private Wealth LLC

Oxler Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 477.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,620 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises 0.8% of Oxler Private Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Oxler Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,563,020,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $606,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,917 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $771,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,915 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,129,800,000 after buying an additional 1,058,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $282,406,000 after buying an additional 749,199 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $373,434,232.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of PANW traded down $12.11 on Tuesday, reaching $311.66. The stock had a trading volume of 13,753,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,186,567. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $288.74 and a 200 day moving average of $299.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.70 billion, a PE ratio of 48.70, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.18. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.30 and a twelve month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Capital One Financial downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $302.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.20.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.