Lmcg Investments LLC Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Lmcg Investments LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 512.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,501 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,747 shares during the quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PANW. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $183.68 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $164.95 and a 200-day moving average of $180.69. The company has a market cap of $149.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.77.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.