CX Institutional Invests $362,000 in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

CX Institutional bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,067 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,563,020,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $771,643,000 after buying an additional 1,187,915 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,129,800,000 after buying an additional 1,058,127 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,406,000 after buying an additional 749,199 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at $177,933,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $10.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $328.27. The stock had a trading volume of 935,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,391,501. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.17 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $106.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $321.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.40.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares in the company, valued at $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares in the company, valued at $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at $1,167,770. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 367,315 shares of company stock worth $118,696,590. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.71.

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.