Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,286 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,724,000. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 2.2% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cadence Bank grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.2% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 1,666 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. EHP Funds Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth $667,000. F m Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 179,579 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $36,566,000 after buying an additional 8,621 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $1,602,000. Finally, Glenmede Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% in the third quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 209,092 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $42,575,000 after acquiring an additional 9,940 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at $57,096,383.61. This trade represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $167.01 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $169.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.28 billion, a PE ratio of 92.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.