WealthShield Partners LLC Grows Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• WealthShield Partners LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 11.3% by purchasing an additional 2,565 shares, bringing their total holdings to 25,326 shares valued at approximately $4.32 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their positions in Palo Alto Networks, with notable increases from Vanguard Group Inc. and Capital Research Global Investors, now owning shares worth billions.
• Palo Alto Networks recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.80 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and the company’s revenue for the quarter was $2.29 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 15.3%.

WealthShield Partners LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,326 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the first quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,565 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,775,544 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $10,712,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,637 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,235,406 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,234,650,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,735 shares during the last quarter. Renasant Bank raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.7% during the first quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 3,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wallington Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% during the first quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 82,418 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $14,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of PANW traded down $4.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $168.10. 14,530,774 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,529,738. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.09 billion, a PE ratio of 96.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $210.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.03.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp cut Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.61.

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.