Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 0.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 0.7% during trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $305.00 to $330.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $280.88 and last traded at $276.89. Approximately 816,036 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,586,550 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.02.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on PANW. Redburn Atlantic lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $67,955,958.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.12. The stock has a market cap of $90.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.