Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $215.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $240.00 to $215.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PANW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.25.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $170.64 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $112.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.14, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $187.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.48. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $132.50 and a 52 week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.