Elk River Wealth Management LLC Purchases 26,274 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Elk River Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 100.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,493 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,274 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.7% of Elk River Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Elk River Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $8.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $190.70. 3,641,747 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,316,542. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $187.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.95. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.14.

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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % 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, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and cut their target price for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.70.

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.