Shell Asset Management Co. Raises Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 94.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,922 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,896 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.9% in 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. JMP Securities increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has 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 price target of $203.46.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.0%

NASDAQ PANW traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $192.98. The company had a trading volume of 4,182,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,710,292. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company's fifty day moving average is $177.37 and its 200 day moving average is $185.16. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

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