Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 1.1% Higher

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $326.80 and last traded at $323.87. Approximately 1,075,341 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 4,868,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PANW. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Susquehanna raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.17.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $105.32 billion, a PE ratio of 47.31, a PEG ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $303.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.50.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total value of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,895,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,563,020,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after buying an additional 2,050,917 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $771,643,000 after buying an additional 1,187,915 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,129,800,000 after buying an additional 1,058,127 shares during the period. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,406,000 after buying an additional 749,199 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.