Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 3.2% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares rose 3.2% to about $174.96 intraday on Tuesday (volume ~5.8M, down 42% vs. average), and analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $210.07 (individual targets up to $265).
• The company reported a quarterly earnings beat with EPS $1.03 vs. $0.94 expected and revenue $2.59B (up 14.9% year‑over‑year), while trading at a market cap of $142.8B and a P/E near 96.7.
• In a notable insider move, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares at an average $146.87 (about $10M), increasing his holding by roughly 24.7%; insiders currently own about 1.4% of the company.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 3.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $177.63 and last traded at $174.96. Approximately 5,831,227 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 10,077,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Mizuho set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.2%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the third quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Mattern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the third quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. PTM Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the third quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% in the third quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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