Walter Public Investments Inc. Boosts Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Walter Public Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 101.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,962 shares during the quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at $1,156,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at $24,414,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 961,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $328,470,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth about $94,875,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $189.55 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $186.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.12. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $125.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.79, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.