Archon Partners LLC Grows Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Archon Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 79.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,970 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 1.2% of Archon Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Archon Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $10,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 242,851 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $49,697,000 after buying an additional 20,649 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $222,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of PANW opened at $167.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $169.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.47. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.28 billion, a PE ratio of 92.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.

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.