Bank of America Increases Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $400.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective raised by Bank of America from $370.00 to $400.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.10% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on PANW. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.49.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $366.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,533,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,423,335. The company has a market cap of $118.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $224.64 and a 12 month high of $380.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $310.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the sale, the president now owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the sale, the president now owns 20,501 shares in the company, valued at $6,292,166.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,993 shares of company stock valued at $118,596,770 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.