J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,703 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,917 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,453.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 437,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $102,670,000 after purchasing an additional 431,228 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 463.5% during the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 493,053 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $115,591,000 after purchasing an additional 405,553 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $106,638,000. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $81,918,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 4.2 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $293.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $94.83 billion, a PE ratio of 45.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.30 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $292.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $302.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

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.