Inspire Investing LLC Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,565 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $333.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $317.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.31. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.17 and a 1 year high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $108.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,295,567 shares in the company, valued at $373,434,232.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares in the company, valued at $373,434,232.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 428,391 shares of company stock worth $136,147,317. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, June 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.29.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.