Palo Alto Networks’ (PANW) Hold Rating Reiterated at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated their hold rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $190.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $207.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PANW opened at $173.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $191.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.33. The stock has a market cap of $113.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $207.24.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company 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 company earned $0.32 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock valued at $161,546,523. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.