SFE Investment Counsel Boosts Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

SFE Investment Counsel lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,334 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 2.2% of SFE Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $14,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,447,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 29,293 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,396,000 after buying an additional 2,623 shares during the period. Navalign LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Finally, Moneco Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneco Advisors LLC now owns 3,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $171.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.69. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $228.85. The company has a market cap of $185.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.