Certified Advisory Corp Boosts Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Certified Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,975 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,129,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,127 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,406,000 after buying an additional 749,199 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at $177,933,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,755 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $188,946,000 after buying an additional 249,455 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during 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. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $340.12 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $313.57. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.64 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $110.13 billion, a PE ratio of 49.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 464,075 shares of company stock valued at $154,029,567 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by 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.