FY2025 EPS Forecast for Palo Alto Networks Lifted by Analyst

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – DA Davidson raised their FY2025 earnings estimates for Palo Alto Networks in a report released on Thursday, November 21st. DA Davidson analyst R. Kessinger now expects that the network technology company will earn $3.62 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $3.55. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating and a $415.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $3.56 per share.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share.

PANW has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $416.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.78.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $397.41 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $260.09 and a 1 year high of $408.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $363.59 and its 200 day moving average is $338.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.82, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is going to split on the morning of Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total transaction of $3,484,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,983,359.33. The trade was a 24.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $25,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.