Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 854,579 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,181 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.13% of Palo Alto Networks worth $145,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vision Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $3,826,000. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,813 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $10,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares during the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,716 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Insight Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 13,335 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on 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, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total transaction of $19,866,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,243,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,356,888.56. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total transaction of $24,258,665.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 235,482 shares in the company, valued at $47,298,914.52. This represents a 33.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.4%

PANW stock traded down $4.68 on Friday, reaching $187.39. 7,403,780 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,412,170. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $195.04 and a 200-day moving average of $185.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $124.95 billion, a PE ratio of 107.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.