Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by AXS Investments LLC

AXS Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,106 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 0.9% of AXS Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,895,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded up $2.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $311.44. 3,829,395 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,159,294. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.07. The firm has a market cap of $100.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.18. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.08 and a twelve month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.45.

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.