Capital Advisors Inc. OK Buys 54,931 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 311,036 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,931 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.1% of Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $63,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $179.37 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $196.95 and a 200-day moving average of $196.55. The firm has a market cap of $125.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.53, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.76.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.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 prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. New Street Research increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,878,351.95. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total transaction of $132,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,864,398.95. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 381,222 shares of company stock worth $78,762,727 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.