Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 2,361 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 130.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,166 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,361 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $758,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th 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. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.8 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $5.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $189.95. 5,335,393 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,737,396. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $186.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.23. The company has a market cap of $125.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.50 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PANW. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.06.

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.