Alerus Financial NA Acquires 6,498 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Alerus Financial NA boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 90.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,693 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,498 shares during the quarter. Alerus Financial NA's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. RB Capital Management LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Zega Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the third quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 9,853 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.2 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $3.86 on Monday, hitting $168.90. 2,379,234 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,894,425. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $187.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.49. The firm has a market cap of $111.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.50 and a 1 year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.25.

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.