Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $360.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $330.00 to $360.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.03% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on PANW. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, June 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.51.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $333.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $323.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $310.74. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $201.17 and a 1 year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $47,055,533.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.16, for a total transaction of $12,209,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,223,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,984,983.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,055,533.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 367,315 shares of company stock valued at $118,696,590 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,239 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $924,905,000 after acquiring an additional 30,013 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after purchasing an additional 198,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after purchasing an additional 114,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.