Whitener Capital Management Inc. Has $1.30 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,083 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Phocas Financial Corp. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 1,915 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29.5% during the second quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 5,613 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,422,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 76.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,357 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,012,000 after buying an additional 13,593 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 95.6% during the 2nd quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 2,044 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $269.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.26.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 554 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.59, for a total value of $136,056.86. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,637.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 250 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.10, for a total value of $63,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,302 shares in the company, valued at $7,219,840.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.59, for a total transaction of $136,056.86. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,690 shares in the company, valued at $660,637.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 168,140 shares of company stock worth $40,276,328. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.5 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $3.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $236.41. 1,210,186 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,847,138. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 190.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.22 and a 52-week high of $258.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $236.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.65.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 51.13% and a net margin of 6.38%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.