Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,077 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,129,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,127 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $924,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,013 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $771,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,917 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.5 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $1.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $339.01. 4,172,306 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,168,419. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $307.06 and its 200-day moving average is $307.11. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.17 and a 12 month high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $109.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.27, a PEG ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at $1,167,770. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 258,182 shares of company stock valued at $74,850,597. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa America upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.29.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.