Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is United Asset Strategies Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

United Asset Strategies Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,180 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 2.2% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $19,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 61.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 55 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1,071.4% during the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 82 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $1.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $273.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,356,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,621,617. The firm has a market cap of $88.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.46, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $302.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.99. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.30 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.