Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.6% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $186.08 and last traded at $184.58. 765,851 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,892,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $122.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $187.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 968,141 shares of company stock valued at $179,864,919 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $79,149,000 after purchasing an additional 32,626 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $24,414,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 961,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $328,470,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. 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.