Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 1.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks' stock price rose by 1.1% to last trade at $177.35, with a trading volume decline of 17% from its average daily volume.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $217.52 for Palo Alto Networks, with 27 buy ratings and only 2 sell ratings.
• The company reported a 15.3% increase in revenue year-over-year, achieving $2.29 billion in revenue and $0.80 earnings per share for the last quarter.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $180.39 and last traded at $177.35. Approximately 5,087,671 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 6,122,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $496.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler raised Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $225.00 in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Northland Securities decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $217.52.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $117.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.06, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $193.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.70.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $122,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 41,433 shares in the company, valued at $8,452,332. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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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