Cwm LLC Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 40.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,910 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 17,347 shares during the period. CWM LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $10,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $195.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,629,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,397,078. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $130.29 billion, a PE ratio of 111.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average is $195.41 and its 200-day moving average is $185.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business 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%. The company's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks 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.