Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 3,802 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 31.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,081 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,802 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. Argus raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $333.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.9 %

PANW traded up $6.19 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $340.30. 2,968,964 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,355,178. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $326.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.65. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $224.64 and a 1-year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. 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 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 367,315 shares of company stock valued at $118,696,590 in the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.