KeyCorp Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target upped by research analysts at KeyCorp from $217.00 to $240.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective points to a potential upside of 21.49% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BTIG Research lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.89.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $197.56 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $130.04 and a fifty-two week high of $207.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $186.91 and its 200 day moving average is $180.95. The company has a market capitalization of $129.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth $1,156,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at $24,414,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 961,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $328,470,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 40,173 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,731,000 after buying an additional 5,250 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.