Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $200.00 to $235.00 in a report released on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 27.33% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.84.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $184.56 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $163.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.