Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 1.9% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares increased by 1.9% to $170.28, despite a 50% decline in trading volume from the average session.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets, with DA Davidson lowering theirs to $215.00, while Wells Fargo raised theirs to $235.00, maintaining overall support for the stock with an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insider transactions revealed that 669,248 shares were sold in the last ninety days, indicating a decrease in insider ownership, which stands at 2.50% of the total stock.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $170.90 and last traded at $170.28. 3,041,876 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 6,045,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on PANW shares. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $496.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report 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, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.07.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of $112.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.10, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 3,430 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC lifted 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. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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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