Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Key Points

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Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $176.17, but opened at $187.81. Palo Alto Networks shares last traded at $184.83, with a volume of 10,863,847 shares traded.

The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.35. The company has a market cap of $122.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.94.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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