Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price rose 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $363.68 and last traded at $362.69. Approximately 286,790 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 3,954,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 target price for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.49.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $117.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $352.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.16.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total value of $341,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,175,564.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,055,533.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total value of $341,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 41,517 shares in the company, valued at $14,175,564.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 315,252 shares of company stock valued at $107,138,877. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,239 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $177,933,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $150,520,000 after purchasing an additional 444,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $94,875,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.