World Investment Advisors Acquires 11,175 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 131.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,703 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 11,175 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 102.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $153.57 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.63 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $185.60 and a 200 day moving average of $185.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.52, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,114,786 shares of company stock valued at $200,426,637 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.