IFP Advisors Inc Grows Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 144.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,153 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,498 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.69.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $190.39 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.92. The company has a market cap of $126.06 billion, a PE ratio of 107.26, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.