Freemont Management S.A. Acquires 7,100 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Freemont Management S.A. increased its position in shares of 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 14,200 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,100 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 1.1% of Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,609,486,000 after buying an additional 220,900 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,048,033,000 after buying an additional 2,612,474 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 109.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,202,926 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $764,764,000 after buying an additional 2,197,765 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $388,155,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 91.4% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,839,400 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $334,697,000 after buying an additional 878,400 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $185.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.23, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Research 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.