Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 544,336 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 94.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,121,531 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 544,336 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $204,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 104.6% in the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,224 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 5,226 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 92.7% during the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 68,380 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,442,000 after purchasing an additional 32,886 shares during the period. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 115.5% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 392,270 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $71,377,000 after purchasing an additional 210,200 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,589 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 3,007 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 818,544 shares of company stock valued at $147,132,028 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PANW. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 7.0 %

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $153.57 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.68 billion, a PE ratio of 86.52, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.83 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.36.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.