Sitrin Capital Management LLC Buys 15,388 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Sitrin Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 102.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,429 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,388 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up 2.8% of Sitrin Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Sitrin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $1,156,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $24,414,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 961,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $328,470,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 40,173 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $13,731,000 after buying an additional 5,250 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $188.01 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.50 and a 12-month high of $208.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. BTIG Research cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.