Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $420.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price increased by TD Cowen from $400.00 to $420.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PANW. Bank of America increased 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 note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $383.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a PE ratio of 49.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $364.32 and a 200-day moving average of $339.63. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $260.09 and a 1-year high of $408.53.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are scheduled to split on 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.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. This trade represents a 9.43 % 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 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tradewinds LLC. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. FLC Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 4,035 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.