Wambolt & Associates LLC Has $3.89 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Wambolt & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 70.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,362 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,818 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 1.2% of Wambolt & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Wambolt & Associates LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,142,122,000 after buying an additional 31,281,359 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,609,486,000 after purchasing an additional 220,900 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,048,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,474 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 109.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,202,926 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $764,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $388,155,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BTIG Research cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.06.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was 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 owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $172.52. 3,320,592 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,900,951. The stock's fifty day moving average is $187.47 and its 200 day moving average is $185.31. The stock has a market cap of $114.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current 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.