Ramirez Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 100.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 800 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after buying an additional 31,281,359 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $970,736,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position 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 worth $1,048,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,474 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 109.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,202,926 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $764,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $388,155,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 5.7 %

PANW stock opened at $174.44 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $115.50 billion, a PE ratio of 98.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $187.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks 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.