Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate PANW a "Moderate Buy" — 46 analysts cover the stock (35 buys, 9 holds, 2 strong buys) with an average 12‑month price target of $209.95.
• Palo Alto beat its latest quarter estimates (EPS $1.03 vs. $0.94; revenue $2.59B vs. $2.58B) with revenue up 14.9% year‑over‑year, while the shares trade around $161.59 with a P/E of 89.28 and a 12‑month range of $139.57–$223.61.
• Insider and institutional activity: CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares (~$9.999M) at about $146.87, and institutional investors own roughly 79.82% of the company (notable stakes from Vanguard and Norges Bank).

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty-five have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $209.9545.

Several research firms have recently commented on PANW. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $161.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $131.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.77. The business's 50 day moving average is $160.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.93. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,568,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,776 shares in the last quarter. Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $281,542,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $502,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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