Mendel Money Management Grows Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Mendel Money Management boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 85.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,631 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 13,218 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 2.3% of Mendel Money Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Mendel Money Management's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $370,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 2,602 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 219,459 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $39,368,000 after acquiring an additional 103,129 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 71,013 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $12,922,000 after purchasing an additional 31,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 123.2% during the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 18,920 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 10,445 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW traded down $1.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $172.76. 6,244,293 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,908,199. The company's fifty day moving average price is $187.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.38 billion, a PE ratio of 97.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks 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.