Advisor Resource Council Purchases New Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,565 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $877,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $387.00. 2,103,039 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,899,456. The business has a fifty day moving average of $353.98 and a 200 day moving average of $331.32. The firm has a market cap of $126.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.38, a PEG ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $234.15 and a 12-month high of $387.21.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Northland Securities boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $378.49.

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.