Whalerock Point Partners LLC Purchases 15,487 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 125.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,866 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 15,487 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.2% of Whalerock Point Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Whalerock Point Partners LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,898 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,803,000 after acquiring an additional 10,868 shares in the last quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 103.4% in the fourth quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 13,225 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,406,000 after buying an additional 6,724 shares in the last quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 358.3% during the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 7,714 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 6,031 shares during the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 104.6% during the 4th quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 15,308 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,785,000 after buying an additional 7,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rinkey Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $733,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $178.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company's fifty day moving average price is $176.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.00 and a 1 year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PANW. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. BTIG Research lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.06.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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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