C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Takes Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 38,444 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,995,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,609,486,000 after purchasing an additional 220,900 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,048,033,000 after buying an additional 2,612,474 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,113,948,000 after buying an additional 3,249,594 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,005,161 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $685,364,000 after buying an additional 31,595 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 199.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,822,336 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $333,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,073 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $205.19 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.68.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.70.

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.