Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 50,224 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $14,811,000 after purchasing an additional 26,546 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 553 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $7,848,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 900 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.78.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $317.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,485,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,129,325. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.17 and a 1 year high of $380.84. The company has a market capitalization of $102.74 billion, a PE ratio of 46.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.16.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total value of $660,601.83. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,860,076.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total value of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total transaction of $660,601.83. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $3,860,076.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597. 3.30% of the stock is owned by 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.