Wealthspire Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 41.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,194 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,817 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,118,190,000 after buying an additional 1,002,239 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $924,905,000 after acquiring an additional 30,013 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after purchasing an additional 198,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,710,943 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $504,523,000 after purchasing an additional 137,514 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at $6,452,097.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.16, for a total value of $12,209,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,223,567 shares in the company, valued at $414,984,983.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $346.90 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $336.21 and its 200 day moving average is $312.16. The stock has a market cap of $112.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.64 and a 52-week high of $380.84.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

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.