Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $387.00 to $449.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.70% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on PANW. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $391.92.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $388.06 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $249.56 and a 1 year high of $408.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $361.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $338.02. The company has a market cap of $126.35 billion, a PE ratio of 53.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.