Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given “Overweight” Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $223.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. OTR Global reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BTIG Research lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.77.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $196.73 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $130.04 and a fifty-two week high of $207.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.17. The stock has a market cap of $129.09 billion, a PE ratio of 51.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.