Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Marietta Wealth Management LLC

Marietta Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,655 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the period. Marietta Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, hitting $199.24. 8,285,645 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,444,625. The stock has a market cap of $132.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.85, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50-day moving average is $187.43 and its 200 day moving average is $185.20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus 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.