Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 152.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,241 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $187.54 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.00. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BTIG Research lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.