Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,283 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.7% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 1,730 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,772,000. Conning Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 93.7% in the 4th quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 2,832 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 262.1% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,887 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $5,802,000 after purchasing an additional 23,081 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of PANW opened at $199.60 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $180.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.45, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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