KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 262,342 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,736,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 13,409 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,320 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 99.3% during the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 33,561 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $6,107,000 after buying an additional 16,725 shares in the last quarter. Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Plancorp LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Hsbc Global Res cut Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $182.32 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $120.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $186.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.