Bender Robert & Associates Purchases 9,498 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Bender Robert & Associates boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 109.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,150 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,498 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises 0.8% of Bender Robert & Associates’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,250 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.2% during the 4th quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,458 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,631,000. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 121.9% during the 4th quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 800 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.9 %

PANW stock opened at $178.93 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.50 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $185.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.81, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks 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.