Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 1.3%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was up 1.3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $303.89 and last traded at $295.27. Approximately 1,415,187 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 5,371,817 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $293.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.45, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 122,917 shares of company stock valued at $33,959,203 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1,166.4% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 15,552 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,937,000 after acquiring an additional 14,324 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $196,000. Vicus Capital bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $417,000. First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the third quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 9,189 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.