Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Wellington Shields & Co. LLC

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,962 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.33.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $260.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $212.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.97, a PEG ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $185.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.38. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $261.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.95, for a total transaction of $94,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,604,295.20. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,355. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.