Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.3% Higher

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price was up 0.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $344.67 and last traded at $342.67. Approximately 375,360 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 4,279,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Susquehanna raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.2 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $336.03 and its 200 day moving average is $311.64. The firm has a market cap of $111.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,452,097.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 112,040 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $33,038,000 after buying an additional 26,767 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 91.0% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,683 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 231 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $799,792,000 after acquiring an additional 198,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,404 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,502,000 after acquiring an additional 8,611 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.