Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 6.7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price traded up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $300.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $302.95 and last traded at $300.48. 13,536,362 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 42% from the average session volume of 9,531,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.69.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Argus raised Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.23.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 93,660 shares of company stock worth $21,346,475. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $168,000. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $296,000. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 2,536 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 217,986 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $34,948,000 after buying an additional 7,128 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 6.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $245.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 166.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.73.

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.