Impax Asset Management Group plc Purchases 76,253 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 74.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 178,420 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,253 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $32,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PANW. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $191.03 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $126.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $187.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.70.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. As a group, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.