DnB Asset Management AS Has $14.87 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,178 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $14,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. American National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 600.0% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 126 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2,950.0% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 183 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 205.3% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 63,353 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 42,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors own 85.69% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $245.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.10, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.22 and a one year high of $258.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.96.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.15. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 51.13% and a net margin of 6.38%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 58.com restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $246.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 2,040 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.01, for a total value of $499,820.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 37,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,151,613.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.88, for a total value of $78,936.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,519 shares in the company, valued at $7,655,334.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 2,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.01, for a total transaction of $499,820.40. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 37,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,151,613.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 167,586 shares of company stock valued at $40,140,271 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

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.