Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 0.5%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $324.64 and last traded at $324.24. 481,079 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,830,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $322.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.17.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $104.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $303.68 and its 200 day moving average is $306.50.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total value of $660,601.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,860,076.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total value of $660,601.83. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,860,076.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,167,770. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 42,381 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $9,936,000 after buying an additional 7,921 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 78.1% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,044 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,230,000 after buying an additional 7,911 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,499 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 220.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 189 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% 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.