Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $345.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $335.00 to $345.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the network technology company's stock.

PANW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Westpark Capital reiterated a hold rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $317.45.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $3.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $308.58. The stock had a trading volume of 4,526,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,180,038. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $288.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.00. The stock has a market cap of $99.70 billion, a PE ratio of 44.81, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.18. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $188.83 and a 12 month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 37.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,895,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 280,193 shares of company stock valued at $80,670,132. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $49,000. BigSur Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 110.2% in the first quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,505 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $6,394,000 after buying an additional 11,800 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $177,933,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 56.9% in the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 7,915 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,249,000 after buying an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $53,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.