Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Has $27.30 Million Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 96.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150,017 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 73,490 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $27,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 41,759 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,598,000 after purchasing an additional 16,405 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Canyon Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,856,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 111.4% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 16,664 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,032,000 after purchasing an additional 8,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 118.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,224 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 7,717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.5 %

PANW opened at $205.19 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.04 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $187.11 and a 200-day moving average of $182.68. The stock has a market cap of $134.65 billion, a PE ratio of 115.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.