Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $416.00 to $450.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $383.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $364.32 and its 200-day moving average is $339.63. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $260.09 and a one year high of $408.53.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are scheduled to split before the market opens on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.