Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases 25,369 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 215.6% in Q2, owning 37,137 shares worth $7.6 million. Analysts have raised price targets, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $225.09. CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares, reducing his ownership by 75.48%. The stock opened at $189.88, with a market cap of $132.35 billion.

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 215.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,137 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,369 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Get Palo Alto Networks alerts:

12 Analysts Just Raised CrowdStrike Targets—Here’s What They See Coming

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $28,000. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Tigress Financial initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, September 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.09.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Just Pulled Back—Is This a Prime Buy Zone?

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Palo Alto Networks

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. This represents a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total value of $132,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,864,398.95. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,095,056 shares of company stock worth $226,082,942. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

CrowdStrike at All-Time High: Still a Buy, or Time to Trim?

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $189.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $132.35 billion, a PE ratio of 120.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.79. The company's fifty day moving average price is $206.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.23. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Palo Alto Networks Right Now?

Before you consider Palo Alto Networks, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Palo Alto Networks wasn't on the list.

While Palo Alto Networks currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here