Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.7%, owning 47,438 shares valued at approximately $8.1 million after acquiring an additional 3,798 shares in the first quarter.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly earnings of $0.80 per share, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 15.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.29 billion.
• The company's stock has a current market cap of $135.54 billion and has seen a price range between $142.01 and $208.39 over the past year.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,438 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,798 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,271 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the first quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,047 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,310 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.0%

PANW stock opened at $203.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $196.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.81. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $135.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.15, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $122,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 41,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,452,332. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.