Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI Increases Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 102.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,587 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,322 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 4.2% of Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $26,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Isomer Partners LP boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Isomer Partners LP now owns 157,500 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after buying an additional 105,000 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,235,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 44,502 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,098,000 after buying an additional 21,944 shares during the period. Finally, Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 26,672 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,853,000 after buying an additional 13,819 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $198.81 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.04 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $131.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.01, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $187.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.84.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.70.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

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

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.