Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 3.9% Higher – Time to Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares rose 3.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $161.12 and last traded at $160.32. Approximately 7,705,096 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 10,549,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.95.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $132.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $162.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.54.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at $57,096,383.61. This represents a 28.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 144,252 shares of company stock worth $26,947,635 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $3,070,000. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $257,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.