Ocean Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,294 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Ocean Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 70.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,569 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises 0.7% of Ocean Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Ocean Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,511,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,215,410,000 after acquiring an additional 304,272 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $751,276,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,430,299 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $804,199,000 after purchasing an additional 86,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,376,601 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $673,731,000 after purchasing an additional 92,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,662,820 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $389,832,000 after buying an additional 36,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $272.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Northland Securities lowered Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the transaction, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,153 shares of company stock valued at $44,107,332. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $284.13 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $319.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $286.07. The company has a market cap of $91.80 billion, a PE ratio of 44.40, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.21. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.30 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.