PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 38.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the third quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the third quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $181.10 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.05, a P/E/G ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $163.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.07.

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.