Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Cut to $283.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price suggests a potential upside of 14.30% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, August 21st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.26.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.2 %

PANW opened at $247.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.96 billion, a PE ratio of 140.68, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $132.22 and a 1-year high of $265.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $244.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.71.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 57.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $61,250.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,419,825. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.48, for a total transaction of $10,956,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 185,217 shares in the company, valued at $45,096,635.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $61,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,285 shares in the company, valued at $7,419,825. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,890 shares of company stock valued at $42,637,820 over the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $26,000. First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $31,000. 85.69% 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.