EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 946 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,364 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 946 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,129,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,127 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $282,406,000 after purchasing an additional 749,199 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $177,933,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,755 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $188,946,000 after buying an additional 249,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after buying an additional 198,078 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $340.12 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.64 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The company has a market cap of $110.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.44, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.33.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $55,791,570. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.08.

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.