Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 12,274 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,840 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 12,274 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $21,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC now owns 21,438 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $6,322,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, InterOcean Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $10.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $321.60. The company had a trading volume of 4,714,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,984,595. The stock has a market cap of $104.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.74, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $290.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.74. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.17 and a 12 month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 278,326 shares of company stock worth $80,147,130 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PANW. Loop Capital lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Capital One Financial cut Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $302.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued 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, Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.39.

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.