Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Position Increased by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 185.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $18,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 144,598 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $49,424,000 after acquiring an additional 5,697 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 437 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Taika Capital LP acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,114,786 shares of company stock valued at $200,426,637 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 7.0 %

Shares of PANW opened at $153.57 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.63 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $101.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.52, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $185.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.