Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 0.7%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $285.06 and last traded at $284.13. Approximately 3,400,498 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 5,726,015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Northland Securities lowered Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Loop Capital lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $91.80 billion, a PE ratio of 44.40, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $319.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $286.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 143,153 shares of company stock valued at $44,107,332. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,920 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $861,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $1,740,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 65,572 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $19,336,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 56,310 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $16,605,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $686,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.