Main Street Research LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Main Street Research LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,621 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 568 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 2.2% of Main Street Research LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $27,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 61.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 55 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,961 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6.5% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 425 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $2.66 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $274.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,870,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,628,187. The company has a market capitalization of $88.79 billion, a PE ratio of 42.46, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $302.23 and its 200 day moving average is $289.99. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.30 and a 12 month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wedbush increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Capital One Financial lowered Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $302.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Raymond James cut Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

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.