Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,886 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.3 %

PANW stock opened at $320.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $103.66 billion, a PE ratio of 46.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.00. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.17 and a 52 week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.59.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,791,570. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,791,570. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.16, for a total value of $12,209,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,223,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,984,983.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 428,391 shares of company stock valued at $136,147,317 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.