Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 5.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares rose 5.6% on Thursday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $340.00 to $360.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $344.19 and last traded at $343.51. Approximately 2,045,618 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 4,818,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $325.26.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, June 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.29.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,167,770. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,167,770. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $240,168.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,997,573.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,182 shares of company stock valued at $74,850,597 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 233 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parisi Gray Wealth Management lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 1,519 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $111.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.93, a PEG ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.50.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.