Connors Investor Services Inc. Acquires 2,650 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Connors Investor Services Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,685 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.8% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Redburn Atlantic lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $346.11 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.64 and a 52 week high of $380.84. The company has a market cap of $112.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.31, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $336.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.38.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 464,075 shares of company stock valued at $154,029,567 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.