Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Strategy Asset Managers LLC

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 117.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,521 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $172.76 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.39. The company has a market capitalization of $114.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.