Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Acquires 42,308 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 327,867 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,308 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned 0.10% of Palo Alto Networks worth $93,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $235,000. Clarius Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 104.7% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1,166.4% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 15,552 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,937,000 after acquiring an additional 14,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 218,060 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $51,122,000 after acquiring an additional 9,075 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of PANW traded down $3.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $287.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,034,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,339,128. The stock has a market cap of $92.84 billion, a PE ratio of 44.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $285.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.00.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,327,194.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 122,917 shares of company stock worth $33,959,203 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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