Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 1.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded up 1.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $170.25 and last traded at $166.97. 7,188,247 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 10,250,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Arete Research upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.95.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $160.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.79. The company has a market capitalization of $136.25 billion, a PE ratio of 92.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, 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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.