Magnus Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,869 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $398,000. Little House Capital LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $769,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 77.0% in the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,804 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,186,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock traded up $2.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $291.42. The company had a trading volume of 2,246,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,487,617. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.30 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The company has a market cap of $94.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.35.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $67,955,958.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Susquehanna reduced 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 report on Monday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

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.