Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 6,252 additional shares and bringing its total to 165,841 shares worth about $30.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised positions in PANW, and overall institutions and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s shares.
• Palo Alto Networks reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.03 versus $0.94 expected and revenue of $2.59 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $211.64.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,841 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 6,252 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 0.8% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $30,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. New Street Research decreased their price objective 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 Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.64.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $207.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 0.77. The company's fifty day moving average is $166.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.61. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week 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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 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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