Future Fund LLC Increases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Future Fund LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 168.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,652 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,426 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 4.5% of Future Fund LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Future Fund LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $180.93 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.50 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $186.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.81.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced 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. 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 during 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 year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, 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.