Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $209.9545.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Arete Research raised Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $167.85 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.11. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The company has a market cap of $136.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Faithward Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 26.5% in the first quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 23,861 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,570,000 after purchasing an additional 4,995 shares during the last quarter. Cache Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 24.9% in the first quarter. Cache Advisors LLC now owns 25,080 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,021,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 17.7% in the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 7,729 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,862.1% in the first quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 75,618 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,123,000 after purchasing an additional 71,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% in the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 18,955 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is 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.