Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Hoey Investments Inc.

Hoey Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 96.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,100 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 27,823 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Zega Financial LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 9,853 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $172.76 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $187.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.49. The firm has a market cap of $114.38 billion, a PE ratio of 97.33, a P/E/G 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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. This 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 sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.