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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Palo Alto Networks carries a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $210.07, based on mostly Buy/Strong Buy ratings and targets ranging roughly $160–$220.
• The company beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.03 vs $0.94; revenue $2.59B vs $2.58B) with revenue up 14.9% year-over-year, though the stock trades at a high valuation (P/E ~102).
• Insiders sold 30,356 shares (~$4.98M) in the last quarter and now own 1.40% of the stock, while institutional investors hold about 79.82% of shares outstanding.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) were up 1.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $187.27 and last traded at $184.56. Approximately 4,796,389 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 9,627,018 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $183.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $150.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $163.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Steph & Co. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 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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