NBW Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

NBW Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 93.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,898 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,532 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 1.9% of NBW Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. NBW Capital LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $183.68 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.61 billion, a PE ratio of 103.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $186.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.63.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

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.