Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 177.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,064 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 16,031 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $7.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $387.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,204,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,849,976. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.01 billion, a PE ratio of 53.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $359.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $336.07. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $234.15 and a 1-year high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PANW shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $381.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total transaction of $341,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,175,564.48. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. This trade represents a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.