Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 40.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,307 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,418 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance
Shares of PANW stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $173.00. The company had a trading volume of 12,598,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,874,936. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $196.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $142.01 and a one year high of $210.39.
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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total value of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.61.
View Our Latest Stock Report on PANW
Palo Alto Networks Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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