Sava Infond d.o.o. Buys Shares of 70,930 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 70,930 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,906,000. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 2.3% of Sava Infond d.o.o.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 93.1% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 59,428 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $10,815,000 after buying an additional 28,654 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $16,422,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 117.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,127,007 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $206,524,000 after acquiring an additional 609,010 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 150.2% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 642,191 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $116,853,000 after acquiring an additional 385,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,172 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $184.96 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.38. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $122.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PANW. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

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.