Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 302.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,480 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,123 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $27,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $167.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.60 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $180.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Guggenheim lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.06.

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.