Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives $201.40 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $201.40.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $186.18 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $207.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $192.01 and its 200 day moving average is $177.08. The firm has a market cap of $122.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 571,172 shares of company stock worth $107,074,352 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. FLC Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in 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 during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.