Analysts Set Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Target Price at $314.82

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $314.82.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Northland Securities downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Capital One Financial downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $302.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $291.42 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $287.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.10. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $176.30 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.16 billion, a PE ratio of 45.53, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.