Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Purchases 8,220 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Ausdal Financial Partners increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 140.3%, buying 8,220 shares to hold 14,077 shares worth $2.866 million as of its most recent SEC filing.
• Other institutions also boosted positions (e.g., Lazard +51.1% to 712,194 shares; BBVA +33.0%; Creative Planning +30.0%), leaving 79.82% of the stock owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Insiders have been net sellers, offloading 149,252 shares (~$27.9 million) in the last three months, while the stock trades with a $136.3 billion market cap, a P/E of 92.27, and a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with a $210.19 target.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,077 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,220 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 113,521 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $23,151,000 after buying an additional 28,140 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 300,697 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $61,217,000 after buying an additional 21,307 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth about $15,362,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 30.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 239,007 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $48,667,000 after acquiring an additional 55,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 51.1% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 712,194 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $145,017,000 after acquiring an additional 240,851 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $167.01 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is $169.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.52. The firm has a market cap of $136.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Mizuho set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.19.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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