Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Loop Capital

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective decreased by Loop Capital from $385.00 to $180.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.04.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $170.58 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $130.04 and a 1 year high of $207.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.55.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.