Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target raised by Truist Financial from $400.00 to $425.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.78.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $397.41 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $363.59 and its 200-day moving average is $338.82. The stock has a market cap of $129.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.82, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $260.09 and a 52-week high of $408.53.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are going to split on the morning of Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total transaction of $3,484,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,983,359.33. This trade represents a 24.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.