Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 0.6%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 0.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $284.88 and last traded at $282.91. Approximately 1,504,711 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 5,538,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $89.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $295.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.81.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the transaction, the president now owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 61.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 55 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,071.4% in the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 82 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.