Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives “Hold” Rating from Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a $190.00 price objective on the network technology company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $207.00.

PANW has been the topic of several other reports. HSBC downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $200.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.29.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ PANW opened at $172.83 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $191.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.27. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $130.04 and a 52 week high of $207.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $195,596,176.16. This trade represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.