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

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shot up 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $195.87 and last traded at $196.23. 1,005,958 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 5,396,356 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $195.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.85. The stock has a market cap of $130.88 billion, a PE ratio of 112.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total value of $19,866,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,243,516 shares in the company, valued at $644,356,888.56. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,004,000 after purchasing an additional 23,586 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 215.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 132.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 4,616 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 2,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 110.9% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,214 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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