Headinvest LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Headinvest LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 101.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,748 shares during the quarter. Headinvest LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 6.8%

Shares of PANW opened at $181.26 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $178.01 and a 200 day moving average of $185.29. The company has a market cap of $120.01 billion, a PE ratio of 102.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.