Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Alerus Financial NA

Alerus Financial NA raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 90.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,693 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,498 shares during the period. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth 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 grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew 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 buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $174.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $187.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.31. 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 cap of $115.50 billion, a PE ratio of 98.28, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.