Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,150 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,129,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,127 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $924,905,000 after buying an additional 30,013 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $771,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $606,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.29.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $340.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $110.36 billion, a PE ratio of 49.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.10. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.17 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.64.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total value of $660,601.83. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $3,860,076.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total value of $660,601.83. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,860,076.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.