Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Makes New $2.84 Million Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,393 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. New Street Research lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. HSBC dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group set a $183.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.95.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $167.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $136.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.73, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $160.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.28.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.