Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Boosts Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 343.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,551 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 49,204 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $11,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thematics Asset Management grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 115,018 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $20,929,000 after purchasing an additional 24,170 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,852 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 3,189 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 170.5% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 890 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $3,550,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of PANW opened at $167.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.03 billion, a PE ratio of 94.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.60 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $180.06 and its 200 day moving average is $184.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share 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.