Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.5% Higher

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shot up 0.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $342.44 and last traded at $342.08. 314,262 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 4,769,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Argus increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.29.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $110.48 billion, a PE ratio of 49.59, a PEG ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $311.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.09.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at $6,452,097.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 302,525 shares of company stock valued at $93,982,207 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 233 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parisi Gray Wealth Management boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 1,519 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently 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.