Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given Outperform Rating at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has a $450.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $387.00 to $449.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.78.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 4.4 %

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $17.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $380.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,653,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,849,889. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $260.09 and a 52-week high of $408.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $363.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $338.82. The stock has a market cap of $123.79 billion, a PE ratio of 54.82, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks shares are going to split before the market opens on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. This represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $536,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,929,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11.0% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 7,468 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% in the first quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beck Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 16,142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,586,000 after acquiring an additional 3,289 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.