Delta Asset Management LLC TN Boosts Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Delta Asset Management LLC TN lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 100.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 292 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Delta Asset Management LLC TN’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 7,944 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,445,000 after buying an additional 4,303 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 76,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,955,000 after purchasing an additional 45,672 shares during the period. BIT Capital GmbH increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 155.8% during the fourth quarter. BIT Capital GmbH now owns 862 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 152.3% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 40,288 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,331,000 after buying an additional 24,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $12,906,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $184.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $122.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.38.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

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.