Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 3.3% Higher

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares rose 3.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $291.63 and last traded at $291.01. Approximately 1,102,115 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 5,491,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Redburn Atlantic increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $293.65 and a 200-day moving average of $291.51. The company has a market capitalization of $94.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.47, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total value of $15,436,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $67,955,958.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $1,563,020,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $606,854,000 after buying an additional 2,050,917 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $771,643,000 after buying an additional 1,187,915 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,129,800,000 after buying an additional 1,058,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $282,406,000 after buying an additional 749,199 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.