Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $265.00

Key Points

• Mizuho raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $265 from $200 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 9.1% upside from the prior close.
• The stock has been getting mixed but mostly positive analyst attention overall, with MarketBeat showing a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $217.59.
• Palo Alto Networks recently reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $1.03 EPS versus $0.94 expected and revenue of $2.59 billion, up 14.9% year over year.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Mizuho from $200.00 to $265.00 in a report released on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the network technology company's stock. Mizuho's target price suggests a potential upside of 9.13% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $217.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $242.83 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a PE ratio of 134.16, a PEG ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50 day moving average price is $174.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.99. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $245.80.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $136,859,000 after acquiring an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $277,828,000 after acquiring an additional 8,344 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% in the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,077,000 after acquiring an additional 15,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,554,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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