South Plains Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 4,180 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,180 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $761,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ PANW traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $187.70. 3,841,186 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,789,745. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $175.97 and a 200-day moving average of $184.70. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $142.01 and a one year high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $124.28 billion, a PE ratio of 105.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by 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.