Caprock Group LLC Increases Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,477 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,048 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $173.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $141.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.53.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current 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.