Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management Has $2.79 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 104.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,308 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,825 shares during the quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rinkey Investments acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $733,000. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 114.7% during the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,878 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $9,076,000 after buying an additional 21,719 shares during the period. DE Burlo Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.6% in the 4th quarter. DE Burlo Group Inc. now owns 11,190 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 134.7% during the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 6,359 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $178.98 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $176.86 and its 200 day moving average is $184.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.00 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.50 billion, a PE ratio of 100.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JMP Securities raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.06.

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.