Waverly Advisors LLC Buys 5,331 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 404.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,648 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,331 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $244,871,000 after purchasing an additional 606,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.4%

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $4.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $183.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,538,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,574,694. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $178.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.22.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial cut their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.40.

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.