Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,462 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,055 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 2.9% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $52,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 277.8% during the third quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 136 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $2.52 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $290.89. 3,170,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,366,852. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.81. The firm has a market cap of $93.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.30 and a 1-year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 122,917 shares of company stock valued at $33,959,203 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.