Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Cut to “Moderate Sell” at Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) from a hold rating to a moderate sell rating in a report published on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on PANW. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $383.36 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $260.09 and a fifty-two week high of $408.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $364.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $339.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is set to split on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total transaction of $3,484,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,983,359.33. This represents a 24.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. This trade represents a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050,173 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $177,933,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $174,124,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% in the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $150,520,000 after acquiring an additional 444,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.