UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 152.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,288 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,317 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during 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 period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 5.7 %

PANW stock opened at $174.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $187.47 and a 200 day moving average of $185.31. The firm has a market cap of $115.50 billion, a PE ratio of 98.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.50 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

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.