Richardson Financial Services Inc. Sells 213 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 14.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,290 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 213 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Argus boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $329.75 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $224.64 and a one year high of $380.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.93, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

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.