Telos Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Telos Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,115 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,803,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $26,000. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on PANW. Northland Securities lowered Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank dropped 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 report on Wednesday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $2.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $277.28. 2,225,246 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,605,937. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.27. The stock has a market cap of $89.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.19. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is currently 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.