Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 1,389 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 155.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,280 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the quarter. Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 74.6% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,695 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,740,000 after buying an additional 12,262 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,037 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,010,000 after acquiring an additional 8,680 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 132.7% during the fourth quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 9,282 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 5,294 shares during the period. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 423,700 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $77,096,000 after purchasing an additional 211,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $187.80. The company had a trading volume of 3,853,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,590,370. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $142.01 and a one year high of $208.39. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $178.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.22. The stock has a market cap of $125.23 billion, a PE ratio of 105.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.