SVB Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 20,923 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,923 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,000.

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

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $190.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $126.08 billion, a PE ratio of 107.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.44. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

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.