Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $225.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $215.00 to $225.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.46.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.0%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $192.98 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $127.77 billion, a PE ratio of 108.72, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $177.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.09.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by 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.