CWA Asset Management Group LLC Takes $673,000 Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $673,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $79,149,000 after purchasing an additional 32,626 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $67,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,291 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $24,414,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.5% in the second quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 2,695 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.1 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $391.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $127.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $355.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $332.74. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $234.15 and a twelve month high of $393.21.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PANW. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.49.

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.