Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Buys 5,247 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 7.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,669 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,247 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 312.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 989 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,149,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.5% during the 2nd quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC now owns 26,782 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,481,000 after acquiring an additional 12,574 shares during the period. MayTech Global Investments LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC now owns 201,379 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $40,009,000 after acquiring an additional 7,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.6% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 772,809 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $158,273,000 after purchasing an additional 47,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $191.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.32, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.15 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $204.67 and a 200 day moving average of $197.51.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total value of $132,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,864,398.95. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at $62,878,351.95. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,228,330 shares of company stock valued at $251,702,305 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $248.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, October 27th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.09.

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.