Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives $208.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-two brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and twenty-seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $208.00.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total transaction of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,298,914.52. This represents a 33.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded up $3.69 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $196.28. 4,297,753 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,411,936. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $142.01 and a one year high of $208.39. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $195.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.