Citigroup Boosts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $345.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target boosted by Citigroup from $335.00 to $345.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.32% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PANW. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.45.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $4.51 on Wednesday, reaching $307.15. 3,086,579 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,164,459. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $188.83 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $288.74 and a 200-day moving average of $299.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 37.81% and a net margin of 31.42%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.