Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-two brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirty-nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $264.19.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $250.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.1 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $245.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $75.74 billion, a PE ratio of 194.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $132.22 and a 12-month high of $258.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $237.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.35.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 51.13%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 544 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.46, for a total value of $127,002.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,668.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.01, for a total value of $9,144,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,630,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,264,400.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 544 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.46, for a total value of $127,002.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,965 shares in the company, valued at $925,668.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 166,090 shares of company stock valued at $39,767,452 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 600.0% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 126 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,950.0% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 183 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 205.3% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 63,353 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 42,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.