Morse Asset Management Inc Has $5.43 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,100 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.4% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 233 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $55,791,570. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 428,391 shares of company stock worth $136,147,317 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $6.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $326.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,709,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,294,796. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $321.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.31. The company has a market capitalization of $105.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.17 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, June 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.59.

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.