Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 2.8% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares rose 2.8% on Monday, trading as high as $214.30 and ending near $213.66, with volume slightly below its daily average.
• Recent analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: several firms reiterated buy/overweight ratings, though some trimmed price targets. The current consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $212.09.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting $1.03 EPS versus the $0.94 estimate and revenue of $2.59 billion, up 14.9% year over year. CEO Nikesh Arora also made a significant insider purchase, while institutional ownership remains high at 79.82%.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) were up 2.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $214.30 and last traded at $213.66. Approximately 8,777,752 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 9,555,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on PANW shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.09.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.8%

The stock's 50-day moving average is $166.05 and its 200-day moving average is $180.61. The firm has a market cap of $174.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in 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 raised its holdings in 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 own 79.82% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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