Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 1.3%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price shot up 1.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $342.11 and last traded at $340.10. 452,985 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 4,306,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Northland Securities lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $336.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.42. The company has a market cap of $110.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.61, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at $6,452,097.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,065,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $8,489,000. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,828,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 255.8% during the 2nd quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 2,003 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $258,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.