Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 1.6% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 1.6% during trading on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $376.00 to $425.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $362.71 and last traded at $360.70. Approximately 689,618 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,090,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.13.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,187,567 shares in the company, valued at $377,373,165.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares in the company, valued at $377,373,165.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 269,866 shares of company stock worth $88,620,447. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 833.3% in the 1st quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.2 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $339.01 and a 200 day moving average of $318.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.