Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BTIG Research Analyst Says

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target increased by stock analysts at BTIG Research from $395.00 to $414.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.37% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. OTR Global reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $402.56.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of PANW opened at $392.89 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $338.41. The stock has a market cap of $127.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.19, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $258.17 and a 52 week high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. This trade represents a 27.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.