Oak Thistle LLC Acquires Shares of 8,437 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

by · The Cerbat Gem

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,437 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,554,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AK Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $1,626,000. BIP Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 184.3% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 9,585 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,765,000 after buying an additional 6,214 shares in the last quarter. Jefferson Bridge Capital LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $1,906,000. Snider Financial Group grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 23,377 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,306,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.95.

Read Our Latest Analysis on PANW

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,784 shares of company stock worth $4,709,116. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $173.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $141.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $223.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $161.22 and its 200-day moving average is $185.23.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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