Morse Asset Management Inc Purchases 1,401 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Morse Asset Management Inc increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 7.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,100 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 1.4% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $301,000. IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,558 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,624 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.16, for a total transaction of $12,209,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,223,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,984,983.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.16, for a total transaction of $12,209,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,223,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,984,983.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 428,391 shares of company stock worth $136,147,317. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $6.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $326.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,709,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,294,796. The company has a market capitalization of $105.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.50, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $321.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $312.31. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $201.17 and a one year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa America raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.59.

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.