Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 2,229 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,694 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 61.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 55 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,961 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.5% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 425 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $247.59 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.22 and a 52-week high of $265.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $244.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.71.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.15. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 48.58% and a net margin of 8.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.86, for a total value of $10,613,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 177,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,797,458.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.86, for a total value of $10,613,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 177,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,797,458.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.75, for a total value of $170,696.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,017. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 176,890 shares of company stock valued at $42,637,820. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. HSBC began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, September 29th. They set a “hold” rating and a $242.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.26.

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.