Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Holdings Boosted by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 101.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,228 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 12,200 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $172.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $114.38 billion, a PE ratio of 97.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $187.39 and its 200-day moving average is $185.31. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. BTIG Research cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

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.