Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Position Raised by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 99.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 116,626 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 58,244 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.7% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $21,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BTIG Research downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $190.43 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.32. The company has a market capitalization of $126.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.