Modus Advisors LLC Acquires 178 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Modus Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,378 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 1.9% of Modus Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Modus Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 61.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 55 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,071.4% in the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 82 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth $71,000. Finally, American National Bank boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 600.0% during the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 126 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $0.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $247.12. The company had a trading volume of 509,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,883,166. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $236.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.22 and a fifty-two week high of $258.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 51.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $251.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.71.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 2,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.01, for a total transaction of $499,820.40. Following the sale, the president now owns 37,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,151,613.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 2,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.01, for a total transaction of $499,820.40. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 37,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,151,613.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.17, for a total transaction of $9,682,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 177,213 shares in the company, valued at $38,130,921.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,586 shares of company stock worth $40,140,271 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks 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.