Rosenblatt Securities Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $215.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price decreased by Rosenblatt Securities from $235.00 to $215.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PANW. Northland Securities cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.79.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0%

PANW stock opened at $177.09 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $210.39. The company has a market cap of $118.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.19, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $192.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.42.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $122,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 41,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,452,332. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.