BTIG Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by analysts at BTIG Research from $200.00 to $216.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the network technology company's stock. BTIG Research's price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.40% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on PANW. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.20.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $183.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.16 and a 200-day moving average of $180.84. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $223.61. The stock has a market cap of $150.13 billion, a PE ratio of 101.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $136,859,000 after acquiring an additional 384,985 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $277,828,000 after acquiring an additional 8,344 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,077,000 after acquiring an additional 15,091 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $1,554,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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