JMP Securities Issues Positive Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price boosted by JMP Securities from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a market outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.6 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $383.36 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $260.09 and a 12 month high of $408.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $364.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.89. The stock has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is scheduled to split on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. This represents a 9.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at $10,983,359.33. The trade was a 24.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 4,035 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 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.