Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Flaharty Asset Management LLC

Flaharty Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,241 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $235,000. Clarius Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.7% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,166.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 15,552 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,937,000 after purchasing an additional 14,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 218,060 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $51,122,000 after purchasing an additional 9,075 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $3.70 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $295.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,154,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,368,039. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.58. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.30 and a 1-year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $290.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Northland Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,327,194.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,327,194.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 122,917 shares of company stock worth $33,959,203 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.