Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Lake Street Advisors Group LLC

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,748 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,020,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $282,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.3 %

PANW stock opened at $335.82 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.64 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $47,055,533.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 466,238 shares of company stock valued at $154,690,169. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Northland Securities upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.08.

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.