Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Symmetry Partners LLC

Symmetry Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,086 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Modus Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 18,108 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,145,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 505 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,920 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $861,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,740,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.78.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of PANW traded down $2.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $317.02. 2,024,910 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,892,581. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.65 billion, a PE ratio of 46.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.11. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.17 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.45.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $3,860,076.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 258,182 shares of company stock valued at $74,850,597. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.