Xcel Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 94.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,681 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,986 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.2% of Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $32,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PANW. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ PANW opened at $190.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.32.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued 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 net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.