New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 96,069 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 440,216 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 96,069 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of Palo Alto Networks worth $129,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. PDS Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $494,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 56,866 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $16,769,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $555,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 3.6 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $10.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $291.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,972,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,504,396. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $293.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.29 billion, a PE ratio of 45.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.30 and a 1 year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Capital One Financial downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $302.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. Redburn Atlantic raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.82.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,659,063. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.