Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $455.00 at Evercore ISI

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price hoisted by Evercore ISI from $395.00 to $455.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.78.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $397.41 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $363.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $338.82. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $260.09 and a fifty-two week high of $408.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.82, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is scheduled to split 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. This represents a 9.43 % 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 company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.