Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases Shares of 1,572 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. has acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, purchasing 1,572 shares valued at approximately $268,000.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.80, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $2.29 billion, reflecting a 15.3% year-over-year increase.
• Currently, institutional investors hold 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks' stock, indicating strong support from larger financial entities.

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,572 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,080. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PANW. Northland Securities lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.42.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ PANW traded up $2.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $203.27. 3,457,359 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,288,193. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $196.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $135.54 billion, a PE ratio of 116.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.