Capital One Financial Boosts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $248.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price boosted by Capital One Financial from $168.00 to $248.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Capital One Financial‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 1.20% from the company’s previous close.

PANW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.49.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $245.06 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $176.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.18. The stock has a market cap of $199.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.47, a PEG ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $248.85.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised price targets and reiterated bullish ratings, signaling confidence in upcoming results and long-term growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts pointed to strength in subscription revenue and possible upside to remaining performance obligations ahead of earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock has also been featured in coverage arguing it could still be attractive despite being technically overbought, which adds to the debate around the recent run.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary warns the shares are extremely overbought after a sharp rally, so any earnings disappointment in June could trigger a pullback.

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.