FineMark National Bank & Trust Acquires 31,845 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 101.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,305 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,845 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $11,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $231,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,449 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.4 %

PANW stock opened at $184.79 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $186.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.23. The firm has a market cap of $122.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39.

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

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.