JMP Securities Issues Positive Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at JMP Securities from $380.00 to $415.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “market outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.25% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PANW. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.6 %

PANW opened at $383.36 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $260.09 and a 12 month high of $408.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $364.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $339.39. The company has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks shares are scheduled to split before the market opens on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 27.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.