Stifel Nicolaus Raises Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $440.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $385.00 to $440.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on PANW. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $384.76.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $387.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $126.01 billion, a PE ratio of 53.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $359.86 and a 200-day moving average of $336.39. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $234.15 and a 1-year high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total value of $341,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,517 shares in the company, valued at $14,175,564.48. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 4,035 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 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.