Raymond James & Associates Increases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 616,018 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,936 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.19% of Palo Alto Networks worth $175,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, January 18th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $2.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $291.42. 2,246,512 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,487,617. The firm's 50 day moving average is $287.61 and its 200 day moving average is $292.58. The stock has a market cap of $94.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.30 and a 52-week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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