Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by WealthBridge Capital Management LLC

WealthBridge Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 131.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,006 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,708 shares during the quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised 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 last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth 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. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.70.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW traded down $8.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $190.70. The stock had a trading volume of 3,641,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,316,542. The company has a market cap of $126.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.41, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $187.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.95. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 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 value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.