Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Position Lifted by HB Wealth Management LLC

HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 43,770 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,435 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.94, for a total value of $26,321,485.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 356,409 shares in the company, valued at $77,675,777.46. This represents a 25.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 261,248 shares of company stock worth $53,316,149. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $190.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $194.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.76, a PEG ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.76. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.15 and a 52 week high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.99.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.