Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Integrated Advisors Network LLC

Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 76.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 80,508 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 34,967 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 0.7% of Integrated Advisors Network LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Integrated Advisors Network LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $14,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth 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. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on PANW shares. 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $186.75 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.65 billion, a PE ratio of 105.21, 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 Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.