BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target upped by BMO Capital Markets from $390.00 to $425.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $390.00 to $430.00 in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $370.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.78.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 4.4 %

NASDAQ PANW traded down $17.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $380.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,653,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,849,889. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.82, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $363.59 and a 200 day moving average of $338.82. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $260.09 and a twelve month high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is set to split before the market opens on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,983,359.33. This represents a 24.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 27.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,609,486,000 after purchasing an additional 220,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,113,948,000 after buying an additional 3,249,594 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after buying an additional 255,060 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after buying an additional 114,742 shares in the last quarter. 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.