Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $204.27.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 13.4 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $173.02 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $135.18 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $114.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $182.88 and a 200 day moving average of $184.83.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 939,318 shares of company stock valued at $165,384,602 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.