Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stake Increased by BLB&B Advisors LLC

BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,355 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 4,264 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $14,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during 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. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $7.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $197.58. The stock had a trading volume of 6,838,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,397,434. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $131.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.90, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $191.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.28.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 795,536 shares of company stock valued at $141,007,618. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Northland Securities reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

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.