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

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $196.00 and last traded at $195.68. 4,125,872 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 6,216,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PANW. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.09.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $136.39 billion, a PE ratio of 123.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.21.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,629,805.65. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total value of $132,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,805 shares in the company, valued at $8,864,398.95. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,215,830 shares of company stock valued at $249,260,680 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.