Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,746 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,593,000. Palo Alto Networks comprises 3.1% of Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. RB Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the third quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zega Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $4.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $184.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,408,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,725,357. The company has a market cap of $122.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.20, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50 day moving average is $187.31 and its 200-day moving average is $185.38. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Scotiabank upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price 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 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. This trade represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.