Strive Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,800 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,800 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $192.98 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.72, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.13.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PANW shares. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.46.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.