Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 1.1% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price was up 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $183.53 and last traded at $182.70. Approximately 755,407 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 2,577,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $210.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $207.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.46.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $120.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $191.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.59.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,113,948,000 after buying an additional 3,249,594 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth about $174,124,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $150,520,000 after buying an additional 444,100 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $94,875,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.