Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Bender Robert & Associates

Bender Robert & Associates grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,952 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 0.6% of Bender Robert & Associates’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $751,276,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after buying an additional 2,050,917 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,728,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,025,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,453.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 437,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $102,670,000 after acquiring an additional 431,228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

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

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.4 %

PANW traded up $3.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $281.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,849,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,596,411. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.30 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.18. The firm has a market cap of $90.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.04, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.