Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,487 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,370 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $181.47 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $189.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.85, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.76. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $223.61.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Tigress Financial started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.09.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the sale, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 382,016 shares of company stock valued at $76,386,460. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.