Claro Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,004 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after buying an additional 1,002,239 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 4th 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 period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after purchasing an additional 198,078 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,971 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $515,147,000 after purchasing an additional 84,151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PANW. Macquarie raised 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. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $364.08.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW traded up $4.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $362.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,988,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,892,995. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.64 and a 1 year high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $117.45 billion, a PE ratio of 52.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $333.84 and its 200 day moving average is $310.72.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total value 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 $369,443,596.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,259,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,443,596.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 376,372 shares of company stock valued at $121,925,593. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.