Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 1.7% – Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 1.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $192.43 and last traded at $190.94. Approximately 1,480,350 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 5,826,416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $195.00 to $215.00 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $188.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 199,164 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $67,519,000 after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 49,363 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $16,735,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 26.4% during the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 2,644 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 99,020 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $33,569,000 after acquiring an additional 5,077 shares during the period. 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.