Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Acquired by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,830 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,342 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.0% of Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $606,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,917 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $771,643,000 after buying an additional 1,187,915 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,453.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 437,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $102,670,000 after buying an additional 431,228 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 463.5% in the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 493,053 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,591,000 after buying an additional 405,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirova US LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $106,638,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded up $2.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $291.42. 2,245,297 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,423,290. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $287.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.30 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Redburn Atlantic increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.