IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 19.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,137 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,547 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.5%

PANW opened at $169.74 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The stock has a market cap of $138.51 billion, a PE ratio of 93.78, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $168.30 and a 200-day moving average of $188.93.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Argus upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. HSBC decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.