BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price upped by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $225.00 to $230.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 14.43% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.14.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $201.00 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $223.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $209.25 and its 200 day moving average is $197.42. The firm has a market cap of $137.48 billion, a PE ratio of 125.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.94, for a total transaction of $26,321,485.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 356,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,675,777.46. This represents a 25.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock worth $249,160,428 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $261,000. Strive Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% during the first quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 25.3% during the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 205,053 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $41,957,000 after buying an additional 41,392 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in 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, Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.2% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 39,893 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,164,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.