Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Holdings Boosted by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 97.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,104,939 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,041,145 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $430,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,016,374 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,100,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,830 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,174,029 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,093,262,000 after purchasing an additional 169,055 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,902,048 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,177,765,000 after purchasing an additional 950,765 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.7% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,295,588 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,689,000 after purchasing an additional 377,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $810,047,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total value of $132,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,864,398.95. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total transaction of $1,020,950.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock worth $249,260,680. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Hsbc Global Res cut Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.09.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $198.84 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $138.59 billion, a PE ratio of 125.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $205.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.25.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS 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.