Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 1.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price rose 1.6% during trading on Thursday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $305.00 to $330.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $283.15 and last traded at $281.85. Approximately 837,148 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,554,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $277.33.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on PANW. Redburn Atlantic lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $67,955,958.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $91.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.04, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $299.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. As a group, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.