Wesbanco Bank Inc. Acquires 6,252 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 165,841 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,252 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 0.8% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $30,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.64.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $207.88 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.61. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $223.61. The company has a market cap of $169.63 billion, a PE ratio of 114.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.