Zullo Investment Group Inc. Acquires 1,024 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 90.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,158 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. HSBC downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.70.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $205.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $187.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.68. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.04 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.86 billion, a PE ratio of 115.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.