Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) PT Raised to $390.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $360.00 to $390.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, June 21st. They set a buy rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Palo Alto Networks from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $363.49.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $350.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $330.16 and its 200-day moving average is $311.49. The company has a market cap of $113.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.98, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $224.64 and a 52-week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total value of $341,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,175,564.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total value of $341,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,175,564.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.16, for a total value of $12,209,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,223,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,984,983.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,372 shares of company stock valued at $118,440,693. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,703 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,396 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,799 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 100,666 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,684,000 after purchasing an additional 20,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.