Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given "Market Outperform" Rating at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $380.00 target price on the network technology company's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PANW. Redburn Atlantic upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. They issued an outperform rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $314.31.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $301.54. 2,689,645 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,115,581. The company has a market capitalization of $97.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.17, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.18. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $186.75 and a 1 year high of $380.84. The company's 50-day moving average is $285.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.01.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were 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 owns 174,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 280,193 shares of company stock valued at $80,670,132 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,563,020,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $606,854,000 after buying an additional 2,050,917 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $771,643,000 after buying an additional 1,187,915 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,129,800,000 after buying an additional 1,058,127 shares during the period. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $282,406,000 after purchasing an additional 749,199 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.