Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Holdings Raised by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 106.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,182 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 31,997 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $11,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,121,531 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $204,074,000 after purchasing an additional 544,336 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.6% during the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,224 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 92.7% in the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 68,380 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,442,000 after acquiring an additional 32,886 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 115.5% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 392,270 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $71,377,000 after acquiring an additional 210,200 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,589 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 3,007 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.27.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm'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 $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 818,544 shares of company stock worth $147,132,028 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $3.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.24. 2,207,093 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,896,902. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.83 and a twelve 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.