Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Purchased by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 39.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 54,870 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,519 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded up $6.68 on Friday, hitting $326.81. 1,709,425 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,294,796. The firm has a market cap of $105.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.50, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $321.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.34. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.17 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Daiwa America raised Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.59.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 428,391 shares of company stock worth $136,147,317 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.