Berger Financial Group Inc Increases Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Berger Financial Group Inc raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 358.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,714 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $186.93. 5,904,391 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,810,636. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.00 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $123.77 billion, a PE ratio of 105.31, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50 day moving average price is $176.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.70.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm'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 value of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.