Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares were up 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $192.08 and last traded at $189.88. Approximately 5,819,570 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 6,228,753 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. New Street Research boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.09.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.1%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $206.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.35 billion, a PE ratio of 120.18, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total transaction of $132,573.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,864,398.95. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total value of $23,081,119.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,008,788.94. This represents a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,215,830 shares of company stock worth $249,164,061 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.