Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Has $91.07 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 91.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500,515 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 238,872 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 1.9% of Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC owned 0.08% of Palo Alto Networks worth $91,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Riposte Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $11,827,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 338,695 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $61,629,000 after purchasing an additional 138,790 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.6% during the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,998 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 1,964 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $934,000. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.8% during the fourth quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 29,990 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,457,000 after buying an additional 15,132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $182.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $186.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on PANW shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.