Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Conservest Capital Advisors Inc.

Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 82.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,900 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the period. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $268,851,000 after purchasing an additional 129,371 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 613.9% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,364 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 898 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim cut 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $190.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $126.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.29, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $186.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.32.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks 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.