Cape Investment Advisory Inc. Increases Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1,111.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $31,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.59.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total transaction of $10,559,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,259,567 shares in the company, valued at $369,443,596.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total transaction of $10,559,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,259,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,443,596.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 428,591 shares of company stock worth $137,275,079 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.2 %

PANW traded down $10.02 on Friday, hitting $305.60. 3,524,599 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,378,765. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.17 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $98.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $321.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $312.08.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

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.