Next Century Growth Investors LLC Increases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 100.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,000 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 5,002 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 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, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PANW. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.0 %

PANW traded up $1.64 on Monday, hitting $169.98. 5,098,383 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,901,559. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $182.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.90. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.18 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $112.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.