Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is United Capital Management of KS Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

United Capital Management of KS Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 104.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,132 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 41,867 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 2.7% of United Capital Management of KS Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. United Capital Management of KS Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $14,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Associated Banc Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Capital Management Associates NY lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Management Associates NY now owns 10,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 11,332 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 5,491 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 52,953 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $9,635,000 after purchasing an additional 27,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sienna Gestion lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,799.6% in the fourth quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 46,332 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,429,000 after purchasing an additional 43,893 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $195,596,176.16. This trade represents a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.4 %

PANW stock opened at $182.34 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.50 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The firm has a market cap of $120.73 billion, a PE ratio of 102.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $185.63 and a 200 day moving average of $184.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PANW. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

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.