Rosenblatt Securities Boosts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $275.00

Key Points

• Rosenblatt Securities raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225 to $275 and kept a buy rating, implying about 13.25% upside from the previous close.
• Other analysts are also upbeat: Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating with a $275 target, while Barclays maintained an overweight rating with a $220 target. Overall, MarketBeat shows a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target of $217.59.
• Palo Alto Networks recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.03 per share and revenue of $2.59 billion, with revenue up 14.9% year over year. The stock was trading near its 12-month high at $242.83.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Rosenblatt Securities from $225.00 to $275.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the network technology company's stock. Rosenblatt Securities' price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.25% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $275.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $217.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $242.83 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.16, a PEG ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $174.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.99. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $245.80.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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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