Sequent Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,239 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Sequent Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,239 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 233 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 1,519 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,061 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.9 %

PANW stock traded down $2.52 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $290.89. 3,170,945 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,366,852. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $284.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $293.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.30 and a 1 year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the transaction, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 122,917 shares of company stock valued at $33,959,203. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Loop Capital cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

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.