Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 144.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,313,633 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,957,508 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 0.7% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $602,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Dallas Securities Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Zega Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the third quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 9,853 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $174.44 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $115.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $187.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.