Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Takes $8.49 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,040 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,489,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,118,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,239 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after purchasing an additional 255,060 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after purchasing an additional 198,078 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after purchasing an additional 114,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,000,511 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $339,183,000 after purchasing an additional 73,922 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 359,732 shares of company stock valued at $118,815,557. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $329.29 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.09 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $337.16 and a 200-day moving average of $316.24. The company has a market capitalization of $106.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $325.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.26.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.