Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 103.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,218 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 10,771 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 2.0% of Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. now owns 29,070 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,290,000 after acquiring an additional 14,535 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $6,995,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 117.8% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 4,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 2,278 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 107.9% in the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 38,082 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,929,000 after buying an additional 19,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PANW. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.70.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $205.19 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.68. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.04 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $134.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share 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.