Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $230.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Northland Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 3.6 %

PANW stock opened at $183.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.72. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $130.04 and a 12-month high of $207.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.42 billion, a PE ratio of 47.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.14.

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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock valued at $161,546,523 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,194 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 8,160 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,485,000 after buying an additional 4,006 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,000. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 4th quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 5,074 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,487 shares during the period. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 5,970 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 3,235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.