Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives $210.19 Average Price Target from Analysts

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $210.1860.

Several equities analysts have commented on PANW shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,096,383.61. This trade represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,252 shares of company stock worth $26,947,635. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. raised 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 bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.7%

PANW opened at $164.05 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $167.28 and a 200-day moving average of $188.50. The stock has a market cap of $133.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.64, a PEG ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.