Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 2.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded up 2.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $175.46 and last traded at $175.01. 1,729,726 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 5,862,291 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $217.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $200.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.04.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.3 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $190.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.55. The stock has a market cap of $114.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents 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 three months. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5,450.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 222 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,100 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 597,619 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $202,610,000 after purchasing an additional 56,365 shares during the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 88.3% in the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 192.7% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 8,599 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,661 shares during the last quarter. 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.