Wesbanco Bank Inc. Has $24.43 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 29.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,151 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,561 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 0.8% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $24,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $3.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $197.67. 4,157,094 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,489,000. The business's fifty day moving average is $182.38 and its 200-day moving average is $185.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.36, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $142.01 and a one year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction 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 represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 789,736 shares of company stock valued at $139,837,528. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.