Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Bison Wealth LLC

Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 169.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the quarter. Bison Wealth LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $948,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after acquiring an additional 31,281,359 shares during the period. 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 valued at $2,611,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,725,148 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after buying an additional 4,486,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.70. The stock had a trading volume of 3,841,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,794,098. The company has a market cap of $124.28 billion, a PE ratio of 105.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.71. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.