Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,162,652 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,427 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Palo Alto Networks worth $236,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.09.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $154.77 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a PE ratio of 97.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at $62,878,351.95. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.