Bernard Wealth Management Corp. Raises Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,317 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up 1.2% of Bernard Wealth Management Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Bernard Wealth Management Corp.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. BNC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,510 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,206,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $2,769,000. New England Research & Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% in the 1st quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 2,291 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the last quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 30,609 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,223,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $196.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $130.87 billion, a PE ratio of 110.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $184.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.11. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 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%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 264,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 789,736 shares of company stock valued at $139,837,528. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

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.