Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 63.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bordeaux Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $285,000. Goldstream Capital Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldstream Capital Management Ltd now owns 19,610 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,783,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,965 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,529,000 after buying an additional 5,652 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Westover Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $373,434,232.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,917 shares of company stock worth $44,335,843 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded up $0.89 on Friday, reaching $296.21. 3,438,974 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,429,938. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $285.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.25. The company has a market capitalization of $95.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.18. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.09 and a 12-month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for 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%. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wedbush upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

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.