Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Apriem Advisors

Apriem Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 94.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,060 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,426 shares during the period. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $268,851,000 after buying an additional 129,371 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 14.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,217 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $22,633,000 after purchasing an additional 8,246 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% in the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 791 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobsen Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $189.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $125.50 billion, a PE ratio of 106.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $186.60 and a 200-day moving average of $184.12. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

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.