Palo Alto Networks’ (PANW) Hold Rating Reiterated at Westpark Capital

Westpark Capital reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $196.40 price target on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $222.50 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.40.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $200.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $131.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $186.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.42. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $130.04 and a 1 year high of $207.24.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during 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. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.