Morgan Stanley Boosts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $421.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $390.00 to $421.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.81% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.28.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $373.20 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $233.81 and a 1-year high of $380.84. The company has a market capitalization of $120.84 billion, a PE ratio of 54.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $342.20 and a 200-day moving average of $319.73.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. 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 previous year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,746.62. The trade was 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 link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total transaction of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,746.62. The trade was 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 sold 269,866 shares of company stock valued at $88,620,447. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,129,800,000 after buying an additional 1,058,127 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $177,933,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $150,520,000 after acquiring an additional 444,100 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after acquiring an additional 255,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $799,792,000 after acquiring an additional 198,078 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.