Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $325.59.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $350.00 to $325.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.16, for a total value of $12,209,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,223,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,984,983.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.16, for a total transaction of $12,209,760.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,223,567 shares in the company, valued at $414,984,983.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 428,591 shares of company stock valued at $137,275,079 in the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,418 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 233 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 1,656 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 3,060 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $305.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $98.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $321.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.22. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $201.17 and a 52-week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.