Crewe Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Crewe Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,949 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in 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. JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Snider Financial Group boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 17,729 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,025,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 1,310 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PANW. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $199.24 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $187.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.85 billion, a PE ratio of 113.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 264,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 789,736 shares of company stock valued at $139,837,528. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.