Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.7% Higher

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shot up 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $280.88 and last traded at $276.89. 816,036 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 5,586,550 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Rosenblatt Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $315.46.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $299.16 and a 200 day moving average of $290.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,959 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 11,784 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,348,000 after buying an additional 1,532 shares during the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $284,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $204,000. 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.