BIP Wealth LLC Acquires 6,214 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• BIP Wealth LLC boosted its Palo Alto Networks stake by 184.3% in Q4, buying 6,214 shares to hold 9,585 shares valued at about $1.765 million.
• CEO Nikesh Arora made a major insider purchase of 68,085 shares at roughly $146.87 each (~$10.0 million), increasing his ownership to 343,394 shares (a 24.73% rise).
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view (consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $209.95); Palo Alto Networks recently beat EPS estimates ($1.03 vs. $0.94) with revenue up 14.9%, and the stock trades near $173.78 (52‑week range $139.57–$223.61).

BIP Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 184.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,585 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,214 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the third quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% in the third quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.95.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 28,784 shares of company stock valued at $4,709,116 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $173.78 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.22 and a 200 day moving average of $185.23. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.01, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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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