Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $170.54 and last traded at $169.56. 4,695,922 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 10,133,215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 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 issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.95.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $160.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.36 billion, a PE ratio of 93.68, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its position 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its position 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.