CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Buys 17,000 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 17,000 shares during the period. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $186.85 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $198.88 and its 200 day moving average is $196.89. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The company has a market capitalization of $130.23 billion, a PE ratio of 118.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total value of $132,573.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,805 shares in the company, valued at $8,864,398.95. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 381,222 shares of company stock valued at $78,762,727. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $228.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.20.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.