Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.49.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $361.12 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $233.81 and a twelve month high of $384.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $352.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.32. The firm has a market cap of $117.58 billion, a PE ratio of 49.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction 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 approximately $370,926,027.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,118,190,000 after buying an additional 1,002,239 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at $177,933,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $150,520,000 after acquiring an additional 444,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $94,875,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.