Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Takes $3.49 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,220 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,493,000. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 0.8% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,760 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,057,000 after purchasing an additional 7,535 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at $56,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 91.0% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,683 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,404 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,502,000 after buying an additional 8,611 shares during the period. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $327,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 351,452 shares of company stock valued at $118,643,279. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $376.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $122.46 billion, a PE ratio of 51.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $233.81 and a one year high of $384.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $350.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $324.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

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.