Bensler LLC Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Bensler LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,436 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,910 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.4% of Bensler LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,301 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,248.9% in the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 10,899 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,219,000 after buying an additional 10,091 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,234,551 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $457,279,000 after acquiring an additional 163,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richmond Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.2% during the 2nd quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of PANW opened at $184.22 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the sale, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 382,016 shares of company stock worth $76,386,460 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $215.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.09.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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.