Aviance Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 3,241 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,241 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 233 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parisi Gray Wealth Management boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 1,519 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $340.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $307.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.11. The stock has a market cap of $110.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $201.17 and a one year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total transaction of $660,601.83. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,860,076.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.29.

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.