Roberts Capital Advisors LLC Invests $550,000 in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Roberts Capital Advisors LLC has invested $550,000 in Palo Alto Networks, Inc., acquiring 3,226 shares in the first quarter, reflecting growing institutional interest in the cybersecurity firm.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a 15.3% year-over-year increase in revenue, totaling $2.29 billion, and surpassed EPS forecasts with reported earnings of $0.80.
• The stock has a market cap of approximately $118.08 billion and analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," with an average price target of $217.01.

Roberts Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,226 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,004,000 after purchasing an additional 23,586 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $567,000. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 17,616 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 8,831 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $177.09 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $192.00 and a 200 day moving average of $186.41. The stock has a market cap of $118.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $160,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.01.

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.

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