Caprock Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,219 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,027 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $335.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $108.74 billion, a PE ratio of 48.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $335.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.09. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.64 and a 12 month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,668 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.54, for a total value of $22,436,448.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 694,228 shares in the company, valued at $233,635,491.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 466,238 shares of company stock worth $154,690,169. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.