Palo Alto Networks Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PANW)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 106,557 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 28% compared to the typical daily volume of 83,146 call options.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $339.01 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $307.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $307.14. The company has a market cap of $109.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.27, a PEG ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.10. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $201.17 and a 1 year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,167,770. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 in the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.3% in the first quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.0% in the first quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 11,413 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,418 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,030,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamilton Wealth LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 19,655 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,585,000 after purchasing an additional 6,435 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, June 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.29.

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.