Quest Investment Management LLC Buys New Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Quest Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 48,914 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,582,000. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 1.8% of Quest Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.54, for a total value of $22,436,448.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 694,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $233,635,491.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Northland Securities raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $340.12 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.64 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $336.39 and its 200 day moving average is $313.33. The company has a market cap of $110.13 billion, a PE ratio of 49.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share 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.