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

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

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PANW. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $381.56.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $7.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $387.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,197,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,847,793. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.43, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $358.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $335.42. 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 quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. The trade was a 9.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,115,567 shares of the company’s stock, 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 quarter, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.