Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. Boosts Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,905 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.8% of Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. The trade was a 31.37% 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 Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total transaction of $19,866,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,243,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,356,888.56. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 668,722 shares of company stock valued at $121,714,798 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.3%

PANW stock opened at $201.50 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.42.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current 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.