Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Trims Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 460,550 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 19,802 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.07% of Palo Alto Networks worth $85,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,301 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $136,859,000 after buying an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $277,828,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $162.95 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $132.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.03, a PEG ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.70.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks 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.