Atticus Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 30.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,144 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 264 shares during the quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,129,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,127 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $924,905,000 after buying an additional 30,013 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $771,643,000 after buying an additional 1,187,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,917 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock traded down $1.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $339.01. The stock had a trading volume of 4,172,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,168,419. The business has a 50-day moving average of $307.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.16. The firm has a market cap of $109.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.10. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.17 and a 52-week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 258,182 shares of company stock valued at $74,850,597. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PANW. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.29.

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.