The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 101.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 397,698 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 200,199 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $72,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PANW stock traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $187.70. The stock had a trading volume of 3,841,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,794,098. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $124.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.75, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average is $175.97 and its 200-day moving average is $184.71.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.