Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Position Lifted by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 574,529 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,782 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Palo Alto Networks worth $194,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.7 %

PANW opened at $341.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $336.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.64 and a 12-month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock valued at $154,029,567. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PANW. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.08.

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.