Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW is Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s 10th Largest Position

Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS lessened its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,564 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 3,182 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.8% of Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% in the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $169.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $168.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.93. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $138.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.78, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. New Street Research decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next?generation firewalls as a core on?premises capability, alongside cloud?delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.