Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on PANW. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $171.31 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $113.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $132.50 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $187.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.46.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 14.2% during the first quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 22,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 2,769 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 18,617 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,177,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Objective Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.3% during the 4th quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. 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.