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

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target lifted by BTIG Research from $216.00 to $268.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target points to a potential upside of 2.85% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on PANW. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.53.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $260.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.38. The company has a market capitalization of $212.63 billion, a PE ratio of 143.97, a P/E/G ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $261.41.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,355 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.