Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Acquired by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Key Points

• Nations Financial Group boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 71.4% in Q4 to 29,112 shares (about $5.36M), and institutional investors collectively own roughly 79.82% of PANW.
• Wall Street sentiment is largely positive with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.95, including multiple outperform/strong-buy calls and targets in the ~$200–$220 range.
• Palo Alto beat Q4 EPS estimates ($1.03 vs. $0.94) with revenue up 14.9% year‑over‑year, while insiders have sold 30,356 shares (about $4.98M) in the past 90 days, leaving insider ownership at 1.40%.

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 71.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,112 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,126 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $13,290,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,589 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,736,916 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $6,055,031,000 after purchasing an additional 505,924 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,528,248 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,532,902,000 after purchasing an additional 36,511 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,906,963 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,202,776,000 after purchasing an additional 611,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,037,320 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $822,079,000 after purchasing an additional 17,394 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PANW. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.95.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $164.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.91 billion, a PE ratio of 90.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $160.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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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