Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price rose 0.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $181.35 and last traded at $178.50. Approximately 1,590,087 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 6,104,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.77.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $116.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.23, a PEG ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $190.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.52.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 183.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 344,361 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $62,660,000 after acquiring an additional 222,798 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 1,648 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 382 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.6% during the fourth quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 3,861 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 1,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 4,914 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.