Harbor Advisors LLC Purchases 6,250 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Harbor Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 100.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,500 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares during the period. Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Swedbank AB boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 129,371 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,619 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.6% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of PANW opened at $182.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.05. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.50 and a 12 month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.