Scotia Capital Inc. Boosts Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 114.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 128,717 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,790 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $23,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,316,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,109,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,737 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $22,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 45.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,593 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 2,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empire Financial Management Company LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 4,394 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 939,318 shares of company stock valued at $165,384,602. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 13.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $173.02 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.18 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.83. The firm has a market cap of $114.56 billion, a PE ratio of 97.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.27.

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.