Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,040 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $26,000. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, January 18th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,955,958.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553 in the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $277.71 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $89.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.30 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $295.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.20.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 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.