Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Position Raised by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,830 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,342 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.0% of Kovack Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,511,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,215,410,000 after purchasing an additional 304,272 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,430,299 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $804,199,000 after purchasing an additional 86,995 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $771,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,915 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,662,820 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $389,832,000 after acquiring an additional 36,859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $2.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $291.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,245,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,423,290. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.30 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $94.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $287.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PANW. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. 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 on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks 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 transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.