Truist Financial Corp Buys 37,099 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,900 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,099 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.07% of Palo Alto Networks worth $66,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $235,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 80,264 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $18,817,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 104.7% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,487,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, January 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Northland Securities cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $291.42 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $287.61 and a 200-day moving average of $292.35. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.30 and a 1-year high of $380.84. The company has a market cap of $94.16 billion, a PE ratio of 45.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.