Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV Purchases New Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV opened a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter, buying 15,792 shares valued at about $2.9 million.
• Palo Alto Networks reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.03 versus estimates of $0.94 and revenue of $2.59 billion, up 14.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.64, while recent insider activity included CEO Nikesh Arora buying shares and CAO Josh D. Paul selling shares.

Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,792 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,909,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $12,512,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $502,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,738 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $162,161,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $151,682,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,532,201 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $750,875,000 after purchasing an additional 708,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $207.88 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $166.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.61. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PANW. Arete Research raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.64.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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