Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 100.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,578 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,785 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 3.0% of Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $388,155,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. JMP Securities upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. BTIG Research cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $182.32 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $120.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.72, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.00.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % 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. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.