Strive Asset Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,800 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during 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. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PANW. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.46.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $192.98 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $177.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $127.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks 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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