Whalerock Point Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 53.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,876 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,120 shares during the period. Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in 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. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 428,391 shares of company stock worth $136,147,317. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa America raised Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Macquarie lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ PANW traded down $4.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $317.51. 2,703,781 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,472,761. The company has a 50 day moving average of $321.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $312.25. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.17 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $102.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.15, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks 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.