NorthRock Partners LLC Acquires 7,577 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 415.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,577 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Numerai GP LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $827,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,120,615,000 after buying an additional 3,047,625 shares during the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 994.2% during the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 12,069 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,196,000 after acquiring an additional 10,966 shares during the last quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $257,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 142.1% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 26,718 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,862,000 after purchasing an additional 15,683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $190.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.39 billion, a PE ratio of 107.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.