Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by First Heartland Consultants Inc.

First Heartland Consultants Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 24.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,592 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.42.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $203.27 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $196.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.81. The firm has a market cap of $135.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.15, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

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