Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 13.1% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares surged 13.1% to $373.94 in mid-day trading, reaching as high as $378.60, while trading volume rose 39% above the average session level.
• The company beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.02 versus the $0.98 consensus and revenue of $3.41 billion versus $3.35 billion; revenue increased 34.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 39 Buy ratings and 11 Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $387.60. Several firms recently raised their targets to as high as $400.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 13.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $378.60 and last traded at $373.94. Approximately 11,833,580 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 39% from the average session volume of 8,510,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on PANW shares. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $300.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Benchmark increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $394.00 price objective (up from $387.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.60.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 13.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $305.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 733.23, a P/E/G ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $349.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.88.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total transaction of $101,134.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,244,839.38. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh Paul sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.68, for a total transaction of $336,312.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 72,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,085,821.12. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,667 shares of company stock valued at $3,058,443. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% during the second 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. Finally, EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides security products and services to businesses, governments and other organizations worldwide. The company helps customers protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, applications and connected devices from cyber threats.

Its portfolio includes next-generation firewalls and network security technologies, as well as cloud-delivered security solutions such as Prisma Access and Prisma Cloud. Palo Alto Networks also offers Cortex products for endpoint protection, security operations, threat detection and response, and automation.

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