Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Utah Retirement Systems

Utah Retirement Systems increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 111.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,510 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,555 shares during the quarter. Utah Retirement Systems' holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $19,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 906 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $187.70. The company had a trading volume of 3,841,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,794,098. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $124.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction 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 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. BTIG Research lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.06.

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.