Aljian Capital Management LLC Acquires 4,431 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 118.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,184 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,431 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 0.7% of Aljian Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Aljian Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after buying an additional 3,249,594 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $177,933,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% in the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $150,520,000 after purchasing an additional 444,100 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth $94,875,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after acquiring an additional 255,060 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,983,359.33. The trade was a 24.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $387.00 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $234.15 and a fifty-two week high of $408.53. The company has a market cap of $126.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.38, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $359.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $336.73.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $384.76.

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.