Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 108.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,708 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,622 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $29,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th 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 grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $1.87 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $173.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,338,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,881,771. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.72 and a 200-day moving average of $185.38. The firm has a market cap of $114.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.27.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.