SFE Investment Counsel Has $12.28 Million Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

SFE Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,217 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 2.7% of SFE Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 466,238 shares of company stock worth $154,690,169. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $335.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $335.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.48. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.64 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.