Aviva PLC Buys 210,200 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 115.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 392,270 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 210,200 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $71,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,114,786 shares of company stock worth $200,426,637 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim cut Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $153.57 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.22. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.83 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $101.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.52, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.