Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Nia Impact Advisors LLC

Nia Impact Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 84.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 40,226 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,407 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 2.4% of Nia Impact Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Nia Impact Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank lifted 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $192.00 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $176.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.12 billion, a PE ratio of 108.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

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

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.