Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 5.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price rose 5.6% during trading on Thursday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $340.00 to $360.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $344.19 and last traded at $343.51. Approximately 2,045,618 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 4,818,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $325.26.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PANW. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total transaction of $660,601.83. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,860,076.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total transaction of $660,601.83. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,860,076.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $99,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares in the company, valued at $1,167,770. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,182 shares of company stock valued at $74,850,597 over the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 4.8 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $304.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.64. The company has a market capitalization of $110.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.