Trivest Advisors Ltd Buys Shares of 6,400 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,400 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,887,000. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 0.1% of Trivest Advisors Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 233 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 1,519 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,061 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $297.47. The stock had a trading volume of 2,139,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,285,549. The company has a 50 day moving average of $285.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $295.20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.75 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $96.11 billion, a PE ratio of 46.48, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,895,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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