Capital One Financial Initiates Coverage on Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)

Stock analysts at Capital One Financial initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Rating) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, The Fly reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $247.00 price target on the network technology company’s stock. Capital One Financial‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 23.93% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.26.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $199.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $60.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 2,847.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.17. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $132.22 and a 52 week high of $203.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.11.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The network technology company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.62% and a net margin of 0.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.62, for a total transaction of $469,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,938,879.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.62, for a total value of $469,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,938,879.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.12, for a total value of $8,240,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 605,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,826,421.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 271,380 shares of company stock valued at $51,233,846. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 61.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 55 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,961 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.5% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 425 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.4% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 81.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

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Palo Alto Networks, Inc engages in the provision of network security solutions to enterprises, service providers, and government entities. It operates through the following geographical segments: the United States, Israel, and Other Countries. The company was founded by Nir Zuk in March 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.