Primecap Management Co. CA Increases Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 95.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,000,640 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 488,250 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.15% of Palo Alto Networks worth $182,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in 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 during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $195,596,176.16. This trade represents a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $185.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $122.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $185.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.