Brokerages Set Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) PT at $199.77

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-four research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $200.85.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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 started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.2 %

PANW opened at $187.70 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $188.29 and a 200-day moving average of $179.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $130.04 and a 1-year high of $207.24.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The business’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 867,734 shares of company stock valued at $161,546,523 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PANW. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $706,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 18.7% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,882 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 54,936 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $18,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,512 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 28.6% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 30,213 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $10,243,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during 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.