Forte Capital LLC ADV Purchases 2,435 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 91.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,094 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parcion Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,122 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,602 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 312 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,600 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 90.3% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 39,565 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18,262 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $198.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.84. The stock has a market cap of $131.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.01, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.04 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.70.

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.