Bridges Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 361,368 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,772 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.7% of Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of Palo Alto Networks worth $123,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $391.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $127.44 billion, a PE ratio of 53.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $355.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.47. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $234.15 and a 52 week high of $393.21.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077 in the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.49.

Palo Alto Networks 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.