Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 56.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,485 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,338 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $268,851,000 after purchasing an additional 129,371 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.1 %

PANW stock opened at $184.28 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.50 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $122.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.82, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.74.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.06.

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.

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