Apollon Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 168.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,737 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 53,850 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $14,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,080. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $3.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $196.53. 2,004,944 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,417,044. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year 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. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PANW. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Northland Securities dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

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.