Shelton Capital Management Buys 64,396 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Shelton Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 105.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,194 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 64,396 shares during the quarter. Shelton Capital Management's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $22,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the third 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 period. RB Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during 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. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% in the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.0 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $168.34. 6,295,092 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,903,601. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $182.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.18 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.46 billion, a PE ratio of 94.84, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 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 transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 939,318 shares of company stock worth $165,384,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.52.

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.