Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Bought by Emerald Advisers LLC

Emerald Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 95.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $182.32 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $186.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.72, a P/E/G 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BTIG Research cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective 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. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $195,596,176.16. This trade represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 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.