Emerald Advisers LLC Acquires 2,548 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 95.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $182.32 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $120.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $186.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.