Goodman Advisory Group LLC Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 14,468 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,633,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,737 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $22,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.7% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,606 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,528 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 16,836 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,754,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm's 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 $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $2.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.69. 4,768,742 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,858,295. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.60 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.47, 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.

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.