Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 5.8% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares rose 5.8% on Friday, trading as high as $208.09 on volume above its daily average, signaling a strong short-term move in the stock.
• Recent earnings beat expectations: the company reported $1.03 EPS versus $0.94 expected and revenue of $2.59 billion, with revenue up 14.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive despite several target cuts, with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $211.64; institutional ownership also remains high at 79.82%.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) rose 5.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $208.09 and last traded at $207.88. Approximately 11,619,122 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the average daily volume of 9,559,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.64.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $169.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.85, a P/E/G ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day moving average is $166.05 and its 200 day moving average is $180.61.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,665.1% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,761,909 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $442,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605,433 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 2,065,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Provident Fund Board bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $281,542,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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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