Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 2.2% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares rose 2.2% to $371.76 in mid-day trading, while volume was 39% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $390.02, although some analysts recently downgraded the stock to “Hold” or “Market Perform.”
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.02 EPS and $3.41 billion in revenue, up 34.5% year over year; however, the stock carries a very high trailing P/E ratio of 728.96, and insiders have sold nearly $12 million in shares over the past quarter.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) traded up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $374.56 and last traded at $371.76. Approximately 5,135,576 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 8,474,989 shares. The stock had previously closed at $363.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Phillip Securities downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $346.00 in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $253.00 to $351.00 in a report on Thursday. Thirty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $390.02.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $304.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 728.96, a P/E/G ratio of 10.46 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's 50 day simple moving average is $352.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $269.83.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The business's revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total value of $373,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,031,317.57. This represents a 15.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 79,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,477,180. This represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,322 shares of company stock valued at $11,994,209. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 45 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, 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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