Twinbeech Capital LP Buys 153,833 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Twinbeech Capital LP lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 114.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 288,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 153,833 shares during the quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $52,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. Grassi Investment Management grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 7,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,372 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 101.6% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,937 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,258 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2,325.5% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 26,996 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,912,000 after acquiring an additional 25,883 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $192.98 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.72, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $177.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.16. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at $55,458,002.70. The trade was a 29.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JMP Securities upped their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.46.

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.