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

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the network technology company’s stock.

PANW has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $167.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a PE ratio of 94.47, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.06 and a 200 day moving average of $184.73. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $137.60 and a 12 month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $244,871,000 after purchasing an additional 606,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% in the 4th quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is 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.