Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 1.9% Higher – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded up 1.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $168.74 and last traded at $168.06. 7,946,977 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 11,226,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $136.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.27, a PEG ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.47.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.