Jacobs & Co. CA Acquires 12,288 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,317 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,288 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vigilare Wealth Management grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vigilare Wealth Management now owns 6,807 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after buying an additional 1,352 shares in the last quarter. Rydar Equities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $876,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $3,067,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 32.3% during the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canal Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.2% during the second quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 41,901 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,575,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.94, for a total value of $26,321,485.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 356,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,675,777.46. This represents a 25.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,119,152.78. This trade represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,228,330 shares of company stock valued at $251,702,305. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Stephens lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.09.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $191.69 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $204.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.32, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.79.

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

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.