Archer Investment Corp Raises Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 49.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $97,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,073 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,393,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $336,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,983,359.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total transaction of $3,484,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at $10,983,359.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 339,572 shares of company stock worth $111,126,265 in the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.5 %

PANW stock opened at $346.15 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $335.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.46. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.64 and a 52 week high of $380.84. The company has a market capitalization of $112.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PANW. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $364.08.

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.