Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Holdings Raised by Counterweight Ventures LLC

Counterweight Ventures LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,907 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.9% of Counterweight Ventures LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Counterweight Ventures LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 35.8% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 948 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $174,124,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $251,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 137.8% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,234 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 5,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.1% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 13,280 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,539,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.39.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $383.00 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.56 and a 1 year high of $408.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $360.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $337.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.