Ithaka Group LLC Buys 33,964 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Ithaka Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 97.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,719 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 33,964 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 2.3% of Ithaka Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Ithaka Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 105.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 584,877 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $106,424,000 after purchasing an additional 300,423 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 4,779 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC now owns 4,306 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Finally, Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 506,907 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $92,237,000 after purchasing an additional 253,965 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $179.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.83 billion, a PE ratio of 101.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during 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%. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.