Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Sold by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,997 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 1,266 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $342.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 627,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,742,242. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $311.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.09. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.17 and a 1 year high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $110.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,295,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,895,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 302,525 shares of company stock worth $93,982,207 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa America raised Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.29.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.