Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 0.5%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price rose 0.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $338.76 and last traded at $332.40. Approximately 851,178 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 4,552,743 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa America raised Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, June 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.59.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $319.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.13. The stock has a market cap of $108.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.30, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total value of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 428,391 shares of company stock valued at $136,147,317. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,110 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 233 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.