Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 0.7%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 0.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $292.00 and last traded at $289.26. Approximately 781,934 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,283,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Rosenblatt Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Piper Sandler downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $95.36 billion, a PE ratio of 45.20, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $285.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the transaction, the president now owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,327,194.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 122,917 shares of company stock valued at $33,959,203 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.