Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $455.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective raised by Evercore ISI from $395.00 to $455.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on PANW. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $391.92.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $392.89 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $362.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $338.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $258.17 and a 52-week high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.