Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 5.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shot up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $332.89 and last traded at $330.89. 5,836,849 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 8,047,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $313.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several research reports. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $404.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $253.00 to $351.00 in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank reissued a “buy” rating and set a $430.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.55.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $368.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $273.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 655.84, a P/E/G ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total value of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,760,300. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total value of $10,769,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,110,900. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,610,748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493,179 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,734,973,000 after buying an additional 205,123 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,142,895 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,235,254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386,906 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,993,802,000 after purchasing an additional 706,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats. The company’s product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.