Financial Perspectives Inc Purchases 366 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 100.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 732 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,156,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth $24,414,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 961,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $328,470,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 40,173 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,731,000 after acquiring an additional 5,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $208.28 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $130.04 and a one year high of $208.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.67 billion, a PE ratio of 117.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $186.84 and its 200 day moving average is $182.29.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PANW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.70.

Palo Alto Networks 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.