Xponance Inc. Purchases 897 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 69,226 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $20,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $382,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 4,178 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,495 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 363,133 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $107,081,000 after purchasing an additional 75,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 782 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Redburn Atlantic boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,955,958.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $3.81 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $281.14. 3,849,607 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,596,383. The business’s fifty day moving average is $299.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.18. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $176.30 and a one year high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $90.84 billion, a PE ratio of 44.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current 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.