Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Scientech Research LLC

Scientech Research LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 85.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,928 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,579 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 0.5% of Scientech Research LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Scientech Research LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, March 31st. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JMP Securities lifted 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. Roth Capital began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.46.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $192.98 on Friday. The company 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. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.37 and a 200-day moving average of $185.09.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. The trade was a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.