Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Nicholas Investment Partners LP

Nicholas Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 100.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,440 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,220 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 906 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 511 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $193.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,911,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,695,409. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $127.98 billion, a PE ratio of 108.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $177.37 and a 200-day moving average of $185.16.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.46.

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.