PDS Planning Inc Acquires New Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

PDS Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 813 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSG Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 5,160 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 300 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 4,178 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 148.9% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 189,801 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $44,497,000 after buying an additional 113,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 137,104 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,143,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $293.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $94.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.86, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.84. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $176.30 and a one year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Loop Capital lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.