Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Westpark Capital

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities research analysts at Westpark Capital in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.51.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $333.23 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $323.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $310.74. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $201.17 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $107.90 billion, a PE ratio of 48.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 367,315 shares of company stock valued at $118,696,590 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after buying an additional 1,002,239 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $924,905,000 after acquiring an additional 30,013 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after acquiring an additional 198,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $757,321,000 after acquiring an additional 114,742 shares during the last quarter. 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.