Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Holdings Raised by Alpha Cubed Investments LLC

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 554,585 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,975 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 3.9% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $112,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 4.1%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $176.20 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.15 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The company has a market capitalization of $122.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $187.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.67.

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

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 382,016 shares of company stock valued at $76,386,460. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up previously from $228.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.