Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Jumps 1.8% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares rose 1.8% to $403.24, although trading volume was 42% below the average. The stock trades well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages but carries a very high P/E ratio of 790.68.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 38 Buy ratings and 12 Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus. However, the average price target of $391.32 is below the current share price.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.02 in adjusted EPS and $3.41 billion in revenue, up 34.5% year over year. Recent insider activity was negative, with insiders selling more than $20.8 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) was up 1.8% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $409.50 and last traded at $403.24. 4,825,604 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 8,347,169 shares. The stock had previously closed at $396.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Robert W. Baird set a $420.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. FBN Securities reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Arete Research increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Thirty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $391.32.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.8%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $360.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $329.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 790.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.93.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total transaction of $940,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,760,300. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh Paul sold 900 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.68, for a total transaction of $336,312.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 72,484 shares in the company, valued at $27,085,821.12. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,260 shares of company stock valued at $20,804,474 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.

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