Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stake Lessened by Western Financial Corp CA

Western Financial Corp CA reduced its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,549 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at $25,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,187,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,373,165.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total value of $11,439,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,187,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,373,165.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 351,452 shares of company stock worth $118,643,279. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $1.44 on Monday, reaching $376.27. 1,332,820 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,022,863. The company has a market capitalization of $121.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.48, a PEG ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $233.81 and a twelve month high of $384.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $348.67 and a 200-day moving average of $323.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.