Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Positive Forecast for PANW Earnings

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) - Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald increased their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report issued on Monday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst now expects that the network technology company will earn $1.77 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $1.75. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Overweight" rating and a $223.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks' current full-year earnings is $1.76 per share.

PANW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.07.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $194.48 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $178.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.32. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The company has a market cap of $128.77 billion, a PE ratio of 109.57, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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