Robert W. Baird Raises Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $265.00

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised Palo Alto Networks’ price target from $220 to $265 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 16% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst opinions are mixed, but broadly positive: PANW has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $213.42, while several firms recently adjusted their targets up or down.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.03 versus $0.94 expected and revenue up 14.9% year over year; the stock was also trading up 5.7% on the day of the report.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $220.00 to $265.00 in a report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the network technology company's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price points to a potential upside of 16.34% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on PANW. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. New Street Research cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HSBC dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $213.42.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 5.7%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $185.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $228.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $171.48 and a 200-day moving average of $180.69.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in 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 period. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 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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