Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 2.8% – Time to Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price rose 2.8% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $214.30 and last traded at $213.66. Approximately 8,777,752 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 9,555,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.09.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 5.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $185.88 billion, a PE ratio of 125.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $171.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.69.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.