Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Lowered to “Reduce” Rating by HSBC

HSBC cut shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $291.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $304.00.

Several other research firms have also commented on PANW. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $445.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $386.38 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $260.09 and a twelve month high of $408.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $365.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $340.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is scheduled to split on the morning of Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. The trade was a 9.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 27.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 244,252 shares of company stock worth $85,556,737. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $79,149,000 after purchasing an additional 32,626 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,414,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $67,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 2,695 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.