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

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price upped by research analysts at JMP Securities from $380.00 to $415.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. JMP Securities’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 5.63% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $387.00 to $449.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.03.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $392.89 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $362.55 and a 200-day moving average of $338.41. The company has a market capitalization of $127.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $258.17 and a fifty-two week high of $408.53.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at $10,983,359.33. This trade represents a 24.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Tradewinds LLC. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 stake in 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 valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.