Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by IFG Advisory LLC

IFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,558 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 61.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 55 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,961 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.5% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 425 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,061 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Donovan sold 20,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.57, for a total value of $5,810,645.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,510,086.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director John Donovan sold 20,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.57, for a total value of $5,810,645.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,352 shares in the company, valued at $12,510,086.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,153 shares of company stock valued at $44,107,332 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ PANW opened at $282.26 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.30 and a 1 year high of $380.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $286.10. The company has a market cap of $91.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.21.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Capital One Financial downgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.