Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 0.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) were up 0.7% during trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $305.00 to $330.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $280.88 and last traded at $276.89. Approximately 816,036 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,586,550 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.02.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Loop Capital cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’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 value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,327,194.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 61.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 55 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1,071.4% in the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 82 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $90.84 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $297.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

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.