F m Investments LLC Purchases 8,621 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

F m Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 179,579 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,621 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 1.4% of F m Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. F m Investments LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $36,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $167.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.47. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% 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 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. New Street Research reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.19.

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.