Inspire Advisors LLC Invests $800,000 in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC has purchased 4,687 shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) valued at approximately $800,000, marking their new position in the network technology company.
• Insider selling has been significant, with EVP Dipak Golechha selling 5,000 shares for over $1 million and CAO Josh D. Paul selling 800 shares for around $160,000.
• The stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $209.42, reflecting a mix of buy, hold, and sell ratings from various analysts.

Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,687 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,533,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,486,654 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,277,739 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,324,387,000 after buying an additional 1,088,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,120,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,625 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ PANW traded up $1.23 on Monday, hitting $204.50. 2,132,425 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,193,833. The company has a market cap of $136.36 billion, a PE ratio of 116.86, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $196.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Capital began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reduced 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. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.42.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total value of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,482 shares in the company, valued at $47,298,914.52. This trade represents a 33.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $122,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 41,433 shares in the company, valued at $8,452,332. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.