Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 0.3%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price was up 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $295.95 and last traded at $294.41. Approximately 679,970 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,335,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $293.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.81. The company has a market cap of $93.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.00, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,327,194.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,327,194.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 122,917 shares of company stock worth $33,959,203. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.