Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives $201.40 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $201.40.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. OTR Global reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $186.18 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $207.24.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,237,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,231,134 shares of the company’s stock, 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 three months, insiders have sold 571,172 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake 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. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.