Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 0.7% – Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $189.51 and last traded at $189.51. 1,470,980 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 7,527,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $188.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $191.96 and a 200-day moving average of $176.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,231,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 571,172 shares of company stock worth $107,074,352. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 24,982 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,539,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. FFG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the third quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 17,359 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,933,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $9,390,000. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Capasso Planning Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $219,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently 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.