Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $225.00 at Scotiabank

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective increased by Scotiabank from $200.00 to $225.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $187.32 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $207.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $188.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.87. The stock has a market cap of $122.92 billion, a PE ratio of 48.78, a PEG ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by 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.