Stonebridge Financial Planning Group LLC Buys 815 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Stonebridge Financial Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 132.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,430 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the quarter. Stonebridge Financial Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 906 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.7%

PANW opened at $186.14 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.33. The company has a market capitalization of $123.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.87, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.