Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 7% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares jumped 7% after BTIG raised its price target to $216 (from $200) and maintained a buy rating; PANW traded as high as $199.09 and last at $196.53 on volume about 9% above average.
• CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares at an average $146.87 (~$10M), increasing his stake to 343,394 shares (a 24.73% rise), signaling insider confidence.
• Analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $211.64, and Palo Alto recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.03 vs. $0.94) with revenue up 14.9% year‑over‑year.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) traded up 7% on Thursday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $216.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $199.09 and last traded at $196.53. 10,434,416 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 9,538,214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.68.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PANW. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Benchmark started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 7.0%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.77.

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

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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