Counterweight Ventures LLC Acquires 446 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Counterweight Ventures LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,389 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 2.0% of Counterweight Ventures LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Counterweight Ventures LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total value of $19,866,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,243,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,356,888.56. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $195.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.55 billion, a PE ratio of 111.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $195.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.06. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS 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.