Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 2.8% – What’s Next?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price traded up 2.8% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $214.30 and last traded at $213.66. 8,777,752 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 9,555,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PANW. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Berenberg Bank set a $215.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.09.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $174.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.04, a P/E/G ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.