Sava Infond d.o.o. Buys Shares of 70,930 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 70,930 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,906,000. Palo Alto Networks comprises 2.3% of Sava Infond d.o.o.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised 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 valued at $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 35.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 22.9% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 2,582 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 8,027 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,744,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $184.96 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $187.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.38. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.20, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.