Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 1.6% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares were up 1.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $163.31 and last traded at $163.21. Approximately 4,346,736 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 10,406,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.95.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $133.18 billion, a PE ratio of 90.17, a PEG ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $162.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 144,252 shares of company stock worth $26,947,635 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.