Plato Investment Management Ltd Increases Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,748 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $346.90 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $336.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.64 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $112.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,452,097.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,452,097.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. Company insiders own 3.30% 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.