Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Buys 10,729 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 87.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,023 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,729 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 65,572 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $19,336,000 after buying an additional 6,217 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 31,815 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $9,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,020 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $840,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $1,563,020,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PANW traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $317.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,424,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,169,285. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $186.75 and a one year high of $380.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.18. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $287.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.01.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $319.13.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

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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