Sheets Smith Wealth Management lessened its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 36.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,570 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 2,084 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring 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 stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks
In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 795,536 shares of company stock worth $141,007,618 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.8%
Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $201.69 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $188.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.97.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Palo Alto Networks Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Recommended Stories

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Palo Alto Networks, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Palo Alto Networks wasn't on the list.
While Palo Alto Networks currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's guide to investing in 5G and which 5G stocks show the most promise.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.