Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Aire Advisors LLC

Aire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 104.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,781 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Aire Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $172.56. The stock had a trading volume of 3,004,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,899,234. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.50 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $114.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $187.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.06.

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.