Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Alaethes Wealth LLC

Alaethes Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 96.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,322 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,517 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 1.1% of Alaethes Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Alaethes Wealth LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $0.43 during trading on Monday, reaching $188.13. The stock had a trading volume of 3,799,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,781,803. The company has a market cap of $124.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.99, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The business's 50-day moving average price is $175.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.68.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 448,188 shares of company stock worth $74,074,795 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.

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.