1,498 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Bought by Richmond Investment Services LLC

Richmond Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,498 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in 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 last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in 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 last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $186.75 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $178.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.65 billion, a PE ratio of 105.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.40.

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.