Aviso Wealth Management Acquires 2,330 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Aviso Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 93.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,824 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 35.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 2,582 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 5,249 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,149 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Susquehanna upped 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. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, 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.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $1.68 on Friday, hitting $172.76. The stock had a trading volume of 6,244,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,908,199. The company has a market capitalization of $114.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $187.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.39. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.50 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

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

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.