Sovran Advisors LLC Purchases 1,984 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 40.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,923 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 now directly owns 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 795,536 shares of company stock worth $141,007,618 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stephens downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $200.57 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $133.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $190.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.23.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current 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.

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