Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at DA Davidson

DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the network technology company’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price points to a potential upside of 22.17% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PANW. Citigroup upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Argus upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.17.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $311.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $301.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.71. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $201.17 and a one year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total value of $660,601.83. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $3,860,076.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,182 shares of company stock worth $74,850,597 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PANW. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $179,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,757 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 6,675 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 18.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 615 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 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.