Palo Alto Networks Stock Scheduled to Split on Monday, December 16th (NASDAQ:PANW)

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) are going to split on the morning of Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $398.42 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $260.09 and a 12-month high of $410.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $377.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PANW. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $445.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 285,586 shares of company stock worth $107,074,352 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,609,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,113,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,249,594 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,099,564,000 after acquiring an additional 255,060 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,173 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after acquiring an additional 114,742 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is 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.