Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,253 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,002,239 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 198,078 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted 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 acquiring an additional 114,742 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 73,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,406,000 after purchasing an additional 749,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.0 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $340.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $336.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $313.33. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.64 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.44, a PEG ratio of 5.04 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 the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total transaction of $3,484,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at $10,983,359.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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 owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock valued at $154,029,567. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted 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 note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.08.

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.