Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Holdings Decreased by Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC cut its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the period. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 833.3% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.8 %

PANW stock opened at $364.58 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $233.81 and a one year high of $384.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $350.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $325.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.71 billion, a PE ratio of 50.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,746.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,746.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 351,452 shares of company stock worth $118,643,279. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.82.

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.