Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Boosts Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 387,701 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 32,560 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $70,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction 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 $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Stephens began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $186.27 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.98 and its 200 day moving average is $184.71. The firm has a market cap of $123.33 billion, a PE ratio of 104.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $142.01 and a one year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.