Canal Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Canal Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 97.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,718 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,555 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.3% of Canal Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Canal Capital Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 906 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $4.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.32. 4,922,452 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,832,853. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.64. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.81 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.44 billion, a PE ratio of 94.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The company 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, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.

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.