Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Rational Advisors LLC

Rational Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,223 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Rational Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 14.3% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 991 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 26.9% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 113,524 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $38,803,000 after purchasing an additional 24,030 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,277 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 7.5% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,846 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 194,618 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $66,520,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $361.12 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.81 and a fifty-two week high of $384.00. The company has a market capitalization of $117.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $352.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $330.32.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.49.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total transaction of $341,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 41,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,175,564.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total transaction of $341,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 41,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,175,564.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.