Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $6.40 Million Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 96.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,176 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 17,299 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 40,385 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,348,000 after buying an additional 17,534 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,535 shares during the last quarter. SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $1,781,000. Capasso Planning Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Capasso Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,882 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 5,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $178.93 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $118.47 billion, a PE ratio of 100.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.83.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

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.