Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $235.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $235 from $200 and kept an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 27.33% upside from the current price.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly estimates with $1.03 EPS (vs. $0.94) and $2.59B revenue (vs. $2.58B), marking 14.9% year‑over‑year revenue growth and continued strong performance metrics.
• CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares for about $10M (avg. $146.87), raising his stake by ~24.7%, while institutional ownership stands near 79.8%.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $200.00 to $235.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the network technology company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 27.33% from the stock's current price.

PANW has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.84.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $184.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $163.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.00. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $150.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.97, a P/E/G ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during 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 buying an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,568,964,000 after buying an additional 2,065,776 shares during the last quarter. Employees Provident Fund Board bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,542,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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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