Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stake Raised by Nicholas Company Inc.

Nicholas Company Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 71.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 326,884 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,582 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $59,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $268,851,000 after acquiring an additional 129,371 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,989 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $231,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $182.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $120.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.50 and a fifty-two 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.