Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $350.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an outperform rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $324.17.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $320.33 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $201.17 and a 52 week high of $380.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $301.84 and a 200-day moving average of $305.95.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks 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 transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares in the company, 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 valued at $74,850,597 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX raised its position in 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,418 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,030,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Hamilton Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 19,655 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $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.

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.