S.A. Mason LLC Acquires 2,268 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

S.A. Mason LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 46.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,190 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the 4th 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 boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on PANW shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $201.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.49 billion, a PE ratio of 115.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $188.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value 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 approximately $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 795,536 shares of company stock valued at $141,007,618. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.

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