Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 0.9% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shot up 0.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $193.40 and last traded at $191.29. 786,712 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 6,306,849 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. OTR Global reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.1 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $186.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.12. The stock has a market cap of $124.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.