Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Cut to $205.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $216.00 to $205.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $222.50 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $215.00 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.77.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $177.11 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $130.04 and a 12 month high of $207.24. The stock has a market cap of $116.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.51.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $79,149,000 after purchasing an additional 32,626 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at approximately $24,414,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $67,232,000 after buying an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050,173 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.