Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $330.00 at Piper Sandler

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $300.00 to $330.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential downside of 3.89% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.63.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $343.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $111.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.91, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $224.64 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $327.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $310.68.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total value of $497,517.32. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 367,315 shares of company stock worth $118,696,590. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.