Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-four analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $199.77.

PANW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $177.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $189.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.62. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $130.04 and a fifty-two week high of $207.24.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.