Red Wave Investments LLC Buys Shares of 1,150 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Red Wave Investments LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,150 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,048,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,474 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 199.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,822,336 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $333,925,000 after buying an additional 1,213,073 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,634,701 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $297,450,000 after buying an additional 848,127 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,562,722 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $284,353,000 after acquiring an additional 796,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,374,653 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $250,132,000 after acquiring an additional 689,458 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 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 in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $191.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $126.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.62, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $187.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.95. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39.

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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research 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, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.69.

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.