Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 27.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,476 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 17.9% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $1,635,000. Forge First Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $540,000. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,965,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $394.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $357.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $335.01. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $234.15 and a 12-month high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PANW. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.28.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. This represents a 9.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This represents a 27.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077. Company insiders own 2.50% 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.