Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Position Increased by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 106.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,182 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,997 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $11,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. RB Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Zega Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% in the third quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the third quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 9,853 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,368,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. This trade represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,114,786 shares of company stock valued at $200,426,637. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 7.0 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $153.57 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $185.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.10. The company has a market capitalization of $101.68 billion, a PE ratio of 86.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.63 and a 52 week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued 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 business 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 anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PANW. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.27.

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.