Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 19,746 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,593,000. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 3.1% of Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $182.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $186.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.00. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.50 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.