Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 19.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,718 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,781 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $3.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $202.05. 4,128,314 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,474,038. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $185.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.04. The firm has a market cap of $134.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.83, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 789,736 shares of company stock worth $139,837,528 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.