Barclays Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $210.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $213.00 to $210.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on PANW. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.3%

PANW opened at $186.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.21, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $178.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.36. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $142.01 and a 12-month high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.