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

Intellus Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 22.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,440 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the quarter. Intellus Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,004,000 after buying an additional 23,586 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 32,955 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,997,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 101.4% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,228 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,409,000 after buying an additional 12,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 115,443 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $21,007,000 after buying an additional 60,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PANW. HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.42.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,450,734.65. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

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

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

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.