RD Finance Ltd Acquires New Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

RD Finance Ltd acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 19,800 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,000. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 3.7% of RD Finance Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PANW. Arete Research raised Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.64.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $207.88 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.85, a PEG ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.05 and a 200-day moving average of $180.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next?generation firewalls as a core on?premises capability, alongside cloud?delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.