Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 73.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,906 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 9,737 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.3% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total transaction of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,746.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,746.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 351,452 shares of company stock worth $118,643,279 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $365.96 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.81 and a fifty-two week high of $384.00. The company has a market capitalization of $118.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $351.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $326.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.82.

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.