Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $240.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price increased by KeyCorp from $217.00 to $240.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.77.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of PANW opened at $201.88 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $130.04 and a fifty-two week high of $207.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $186.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.28. The company has a market cap of $132.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.57, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.32). Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 834 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $405,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 178 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $192,000. 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.