Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Earns Market Outperform Rating from JMP Securities

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Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market outperform" rating reissued by analysts at JMP Securities in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $212.00 price objective on the network technology company's stock. JMP Securities' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.34% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.91.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $176.17 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.35. The stock has a market cap of $117.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.67, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,410,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 3,430 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 137,663 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $23,491,000 after acquiring an additional 10,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,898 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,803,000 after acquiring an additional 10,868 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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