Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Acquires 2,854 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 193.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,329 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,854 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,609,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220,900 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,048,033,000 after buying an additional 2,612,474 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,005,161 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $685,364,000 after buying an additional 31,595 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 199.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,822,336 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $333,925,000 after buying an additional 1,213,073 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,634,701 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $297,450,000 after buying an additional 848,127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.5 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $183.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $121.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.50 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $186.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.63.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.