Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $355.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $345.00 to $355.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PANW. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They issued a buy rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, August 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $363.49.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $350.75 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $224.64 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $330.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.49. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total transaction of $341,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 41,517 shares in the company, valued at $14,175,564.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 366,372 shares of company stock valued at $118,440,693. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 139,569 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $47,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $509,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 56,095 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $19,017,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Core Alternative Capital grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the second quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 14,081 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,774,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.3% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 83 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.