Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Vestor Capital LLC

Vestor Capital LLC trimmed its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 30.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 23,027 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 1.4% of Vestor Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.49.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $362.64 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $118.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $352.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.81 and a fifty-two week high of $384.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.