Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 0% After Analyst Upgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price was up 0% on Tuesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $217.00 to $240.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $199.18 and last traded at $196.41. Approximately 1,169,485 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 5,730,660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.40.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PANW. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.89.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $128.78 billion, a PE ratio of 51.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

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.