Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Acquires 3,971 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 87.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,536 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,971 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Zega Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the third quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the third quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 9,853 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,368,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Barclays lowered 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,114,786 shares of company stock valued at $200,426,637 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW traded down $11.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $153.57. 8,982,361 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,870,661. The company's fifty day moving average price is $185.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.68 billion, a PE ratio of 86.52, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.83 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.