Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 10.6%, adding 8,631 shares to hold 89,778 shares worth about $16.54 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 79.82% of the company.
• CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares at an average $146.87 (about $10.0M), increasing his ownership 24.73% to 343,394 shares, while a director recently sold stock; insiders own approximately 1.4% of PANW.
• Wall Street gives PANW an overall "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $210.07; the company has a market cap of $145.7B, a PE of 98.6, and last quarter reported revenue up 14.9% with an EPS beat.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,778 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,631 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $16,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 505,924 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 36,511 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 611,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,356,617 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $802,691,000 after acquiring an additional 319,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $183.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $178.54 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $145.69 billion, a PE ratio of 98.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company's revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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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